Inverse association between dopaminergic neurotransmission and Iowa Gambling Task performance in pathological gamblers and healthy controls

Abstract

The dopamine system is believed to affect gambling behavior in pathological gambling. Particularly, dopamine release in the ventral striatum appears to affect decision-making in the disorder. This study investigated dopamine release in the ventral striatum in relation to gambling performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in 16 Pathological Gamblers (PG) and 14 Healthy Controls (HC). We used Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to measure the binding potential of [(11)C] raclopride to dopamine D2/3 receptors during a baseline and gambling condition. We hypothesized that decreased raclopride binding potentials in the ventral striatum during gambling (indicating dopamine release) would be associated with higher IGT performance in Healthy Controls, but lower IGT performance in Pathological Gamblers. The results showed that Pathological Gamblers with dopamine release in the ventral striatum had significantly lower IGT performance than Healthy Controls. Furthermore, dopamine release was associated with significantly higher IGT performance in Healthy Controls and significantly lower IGT performance in Pathological Gamblers. The results suggest that dopamine release is involved both in adaptive and maladaptive decision-making. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of dopaminergic dysfunctions in pathological gambling and substance related addictions.

Uncertainty exposure causes behavioural sensitization and increases risky decision-making in male rats: toward modelling gambling disorder

“…With more trials, a large preference for the advantageous options emerges in controls, whereas those with gambling disorder fail to improve on the task. [18][19][20][21][22][23] In the present study, rats in the VR group initially preferred the advantageous options (similar to controls), but then an increased preference for the disadvantageous options emerged with repeated testing. Therefore, in both the rGT and IGT, decision-making preferences in the experimental/ patient group are initially similar to controls, and a decisionmaking deficit emerges as animals/participants gain more experience with the task.…”

“…Conversely, those classified as pathological gamblers choose disadvantageously more often than controls. [18][19][20][21][22][23] A similar preference for the disadvantageous options is also present in individuals with substance use disorder. [24][25][26][27][28] Therefore, the IGT may capture a bias in decision-making that is common to both gambling disorder and substance dependence.…”

“…Animals that responded for reward according to a variable schedule of reinforcement (VR group) or animals that passively received reward (Y group) showed a greater locomotor response to amphetamine than control animals that received CE (FR group). Subsequently, only the VR group showed increased risky decision-making on the rGT, illustrated by a loss of preference for the advantageous options over the disadvantageous options later in training (sessions [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. Although all groups of rats showed greater locomotor activity in response to amphetamine compared with saline following rGT testing, this effect was largest in the VR group.…”

Systemic Administration of 8-OH-DPAT and Eticlopride, but not SCH23390, Alters Loss-Chasing Behavior in the Rat

“…Identifying the sources of variability in the choices of rats during performance of our loss-chasing task may help to identify biological predispositions to gambling behaviors in the same way that variability in impulse control functions and faster acquisition of drug self-administration has been linked to altered D 2 /D 3 receptor expression in the rat striatum (Dalley et al, 2007). Dopamine release within the ventral striatum can also impair adaptive decision making in pathological gamblers but facilitate adaptive choices in healthy controls (Linnet et al, 2011), suggesting that variability in subcortical dopamine activity can both promote and protect against gambling problems in distinct populations. In this experiment with rats, the small numbers of 'chasers' and 'quitters', and lack of an independent measure of neurotransmitter release and receptor expression, made it impossible to draw meaningful conclusions about the chasing behavior of these subgroups following drug challenges.…”

Impaired Probability Estimation and Decision-Making in Pathological Gambling Poker Players

“…In pathological gambling cognitive biases are associated with maladaptive gambling behavior and impaired decision-making (Cavedini et al 2002;Goudriaan et al 2005Goudriaan et al , 2006Grant et al 2000;Linnet et al 2010bLinnet et al , 2006Petry 2001).…”