Recent accounts of problematic electronic gaming machine (EGM) gambling have suggested attentional pathology among at-risk players. A putative slot machine zone is characterized by an intense immersion during game play, causing a neglect of outside events and competing goals. Prior studies of EGM immersion have relied heavily upon retrospective self-report scales. Here, the authors attempt to identify behavioral and psychophysiological correlates of the immersion experience. In samples of undergraduate students and experienced EGM users from the community, they tested 2 potential behavioral measures of immersion during EGM use: peripheral target detection and probe-caught mind wandering. During the EGM play sessions, electrocardiogram data were collected for analysis of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of calming self-regulation governed by the parasympathetic nervous system. Subjective measures of immersion during the EGM play session were consistently related to risk of problem gambling. Problem gambling score, in turn, significantly predicted decrements in peripheral target detection among experienced EGM users. Both samples showed robust RSA decreases during EGM play, indicating parasympathetic withdrawal, but neither immersion nor gambling risk were related to this change. This study identifies peripheral attention as a candidate for quantifying game immersion and its links with risk of problem gambling, with implications for responsible gambling interventions at both the game and venue levels. (PsycINFO Database Record

Background and Aims Immersion during slot machine gambling has been linked to disordered gambling. Current conceptualizations of immersion (namely dissociation, flow and the machine zone) make contrasting predictions as to whether gamblers are captivated by the game per se ('zoned in') or motivated by the escape that immersion provides ('zoned out'). We examined whether selected eye-movement metrics can distinguish between these predictions. Design and Setting Pre-registered, correlational analysis in a laboratory setting. Participants gambled on a genuine slot machine for 20 minutes while wearing eye-tracking glasses. Participants Fifty-three adult slot machine gamblers who were not high-risk problem gamblers. Measurements We examined self-reported immersion during the gambling session and eye movements at different areas of the slot machine screen (the reels, the credit window, etc.). We further explored these variables' relationships with saccade count and amplitude. Findings The ratio of dwell time on the game's credit window relative to the game's reels was positively associated with immersion (t (51) = 1.68, P = 0.049 one-tailed, R 2 = 0.05). Follow-up analyses described event-related changes in these patterns following different spin outcomes.Conclusions Immersion while gambling on a slot machine appears to be associated with active scanning of the game and a focus on the game's credit window. These results are more consistent with a 'zoned in' account of immersion aligned with flow theory than a 'zoned out' account based on escape.

No abstract

As a popular form of recreational risk taking, gambling games offer a paradigm for decision neuroscience research. As an individual behavior, gambling becomes dysfunctional in a subset of the population, with debilitating consequences. Gambling disorder has been recently reconceptualized as a "behavioral addiction" in the DSM-5, based on emerging parallels with substance use disorders. Why do some individuals undergo this transition from recreational to disordered gambling? The biomedical model of problem gambling is a "brain disorder" account that posits an underlying neurobiological abnormality. This article first delineates the neural circuitry that underpins gambling-related decision making, comprising ventral striatum, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dopaminergic midbrain, and insula, and presents evidence for pathophysiology in this circuitry in gambling disorder. These biological dispositions become translated into clinical disorder through the effects of gambling games. This influence is better articulated in a public health approach that describes the interplay between the player and the (gambling) product. Certain forms of gambling, including electronic gambling machines, appear to be overrepresented in problem gamblers. These games harness psychological features, including variable ratio schedules, near-misses, "losses disguised as wins," and the illusion of control, which modulate the core decision-making circuitry that is perturbed in gambling disorder.

No abstract

Flow activities (e.g. sports and gaming) have been associated with positive affect and prolonged engagement. In the gambling field, modern electronic gaming machines (EGMs, including modern slot machines) have drawn concern as a potentially flowinducing activity that may be associated with gambling-related harms. Current research has heavily relied on self-reported flow, and further insights may be afforded by physiological methods. We present data from three separate experiments in which selfreported gambling flow and cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP; a measure of sympathetic nervous system arousal) were examined. Male undergraduate participants gambled on a genuine EGM in a laboratory setting for a period of at least 15 min, and completed the Flow subscale of the game experience questionnaire (GEQ). Aggregated data were analyzed using multilevel regression. Although EGM gambling was not associated with significant changes in PEP across participants, we found that self-reported flow states were associated with significant decreases in PEP during the first five minutes of EGM use. Thus, participants who experienced flow showed a greater sympathetic nervous system response to the onset of gambling. Though these effects were consistent in experiments 1 and 2, in experiment 3 the effect was inverted during the same time window. We conclude that flow during EGM gambling appears to be associated with early changes in sympathetic nervous system activity, but stress that more research is needed to characterize boundary conditions and moderating factors.

In addition to the symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder exhibit impaired performance on tests of real-world cost/benefit decision-making. Atomoxetine, a nonstimulant drug approved for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor administered chronically during adolescence, a time during which the frontal brain regions necessary for executive function undergo extensive maturation. This treatment protocol can affect behavior well into adulthood, but whether it produces long-term changes in complex decision-making has not been investigated. Twenty-four Long-Evans rats were administered saline or 1.0 mg/kg atomoxetine daily from postnatal day 40 to 54. Two weeks after treatment, the adult rats were trained and assessed on the rodent gambling task, in which the animals chose from four options varying in reward, punishment, and uncertainty. Impulsive action was also measured by recording the number of premature responses made. Regardless of the treatment administered during adolescence, rats learned to favor the advantageous options characterized by small, low-penalty rewards in lieu of the larger, higher-penalty reward options. Rodent gambling task performance was then assessed following acute treatment with atomoxetine (0.1-1.0 mg/kg) and amphetamine (0.3-1.5 mg/kg). Across groups, the highest dose of atomoxetine impaired decision-making and decreased premature responding at all doses tested. Amphetamine also impaired choice performance, but selectively increased impulsive action in rats that had previously received atomoxetine treatment during adolescence. These findings contribute to our understanding of the long-term effects associated with chronic adolescent atomoxetine exposure and suggest that this treatment does not alter decision-making under conditions of risk and uncertainty in adulthood.

No abstract