Psychophysiological arousal signatures of near-misses in slot machine play

Dixon, Mike J.; Harrigan, Kevin; Jarick, Michelle; MacLaren, Vance V.; Fugelsang, Jonathan A.; Sheepy, Emily

doi:10.1080/14459795.2011.603134

Cited by 65 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…An alternative account of near-misses suggests a link with the aversive emotional states triggered by missing the jackpot, such as frustration (Dixon et al, 2011). In line with this idea, near-misses are often rated as less pleasant than full-misses and elicit larger skin conductance responses (Clark et al, 2009;Dixon et al, 2013;Stange et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Amplified Striatal Responses to Near-Miss Outcomes in Pathological Gamblers

Sescousse

Janssen

Hashemi

et al. 2016

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Near-misses in gambling games are losing events that come close to a win. Near-misses were previously shown to recruit reward-related brain regions including the ventral striatum, and to invigorate gambling behavior, supposedly by fostering an illusion of control. Given that pathological gamblers are particularly vulnerable to such cognitive illusions, their persistent gambling behavior might result from an amplified striatal sensitivity to near-misses. In addition, animal studies have shown that behavioral responses to near-miss-like events are sensitive to dopamine, but this dopaminergic influence has not been tested in humans. To investigate these hypotheses, we recruited 22 pathological gamblers and 22 healthy controls who played a slot machine task delivering wins, near-misses and full-misses, inside an fMRI scanner. Each participant played the task twice, once under placebo and once under a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist (sulpiride 400 mg), in a doubleblind, counter-balanced design. Participants were asked about their motivation to continue gambling throughout the task. Across all participants, near-misses elicited higher motivation to continue gambling and increased striatal responses compared with full-misses. Crucially, pathological gamblers showed amplified striatal responses to near-misses compared with controls. These group differences were not observed following win outcomes. In contrast to our hypothesis, sulpiride did not induce any reliable modulation of brain responses to near-misses. Together, our results demonstrate that pathological gamblers have amplified brain responses to near-misses, which likely contribute to their persistent gambling behavior. However, there is no evidence that these responses are influenced by dopamine. These results have implications for treatment and gambling regulation. INTRODUCTIONPathological gambling is a behavioral addiction with dramatic consequences including bankruptcy, unemployment, and relationship problems. The prevalence among college students has risen sharply in the past 10 years (Nowak and Aloe, 2014), while the rate of attempted suicide, approaching 20%, is higher than for any other addictive disorder (Bischof et al, 2015). Central to pathological gambling is the loss of control over gambling behavior and the inability to stop playing. This compulsive behavior is postulated to be fueled by cognitive distortions regarding the game structure. One example is the misappraisal of nearmiss events-losing outcomes that come close to a winwhich invigorate ongoing gambling behavior, conceivably by fostering an illusion of control (Clark, 2010). Although the behavioral vulnerability of pathological gamblers to such cognitive distortions is well established (Michalczuk et al, 2011), the underlying neural and neurochemical mechanisms remain elusive. We aimed to address this question using a combination of fMRI and pharmacological manipulation.Near-miss events are a hallmark of many gambling games and are particularly frequent in slot machines, which are recogniz...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Amplified Striatal Responses to Near-Miss Outcomes in Pathological Gamblers

Sescousse

Janssen

Hashemi

et al. 2016

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…These effects may be mediated by the established role of the insula in the representation of bodily states, i.e., interoception (40). Certainly, gambling is an intensely exciting, visceral activity, and near misses were previously shown to induce physiological changes in skin conductance and heart rate (34,41). One could hypothesize that the central processing of these peripheral signals is abolished by insula damage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Damage to insula abolishes cognitive distortions during simulated gambling

Clark

Studer

Bruss³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

108

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Gambling is a naturalistic example of risky decision-making. During gambling, players typically display an array of cognitive biases that create a distorted expectancy of winning. This study investigated brain regions underpinning gambling-related cognitive distortions, contrasting patients with focal brain lesions to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), insula, or amygdala ("target patients") against healthy comparison participants and lesion comparison patients (i.e., with lesions that spare the target regions). A slot machine task was used to deliver near-miss outcomes (i.e., nonwins that fall spatially close to a jackpot), and a roulette game was used to examine the gambler's fallacy (color decisions following outcome runs). Comparison groups displayed a heightened motivation to play following near misses (compared with full misses), and manifested a classic gambler's fallacy effect. Both effects were also observed in patients with vmPFC and amygdala damage, but were absent in patients with insula damage. Our findings indicate that the distorted cognitive processing of near-miss outcomes and event sequences may be ordinarily supported by the recruitment of the insula. Interventions to reduce insula reactivity could show promise in the treatment of disordered gambling.G ambling is a widespread activity with a lifetime prevalence of 78% in the United States (1) and a past-year prevalence of 73% in the United Kingdom (2). The widespread recognition that "the house always wins," reflecting the negative expected value of gambling, makes gambling an enduring puzzle for psychological and economic models of choice behavior. Cognitive approaches to gambling explain this nonnormative behavior with reference to a number of cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs that occur during gambling play, which cause the gambler to overestimate his likelihood of winning (3, 4). The illusion of control refers to how superficial features of a game, such as a choice or instrumental response, promote erroneous perceptions of skill over outcomes that are determined only by chance (5). Near-miss outcomes (nonwins that fall close to the jackpot) increase motivations to play, plausibly by fueling beliefs about skill acquisition (6). The gambler's fallacy is a bias in the processing of randomness, whereby recent consecutive outcomes are considered less likely to repeat, and conversely, outcomes that have not occurred in the recent history are perceived as "due" (7).These distortions are reliably observed in field studies, e.g., casino environments (8), and are not confined to gambling; illusory control and the gambler's fallacy are observed in stock traders (9), and near misses influence decision-making in occupational settings (10). In the laboratory, these distortions can be elicited with gambling games, allowing the comparison of these biases between different clinical groups. The overall level of distorted thinking is elevated in people with gambling problems (11,12), and these cognitions can be targeted effectively in psy...

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“…Recent work modelling near-miss effects in the laboratory has established a number of important findings: (i) these outcomes generate physiological arousal, brain reward responses, and motivate continued play (Clark et al, 2009;Dixon et al, 2011); (ii) problem gamblers, and individuals with higher trait susceptibility to gambling distortions, are more reactive to near-misses (Billieux et al, 2012;Chase & Clark, 2010;Dymond et al, 2014). However, it is also noted that modern games are so complex that the opportunities for near-misses are almost boundless, and other features like LDWs may be increasingly important.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On a commercial slot machine, participants report that near-misses felt closer to wins than other non-win outcomes (which we term 'full-misses'; Dixon & Schreiber, 2004). Using psychophysiological monitoring, near-misses are seen to be more arousing than full-misses in terms of skin conductance levels (Clark, Crooks, Clarke, Aitken, & Dunn, 2012;Dixon et al, 2011), despite their status as objectively-equivalent outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual effects of ‘losses disguised as wins’ and near-misses in a slot machine game

Sharman

Aitken

Clark

2015

International Gambling Studies

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Individually, both near-misses and losses disguised as wins (LDWs) have been seen to exert pro-motivational effects on gambling. However, it is not clear whether both structural characteristics are effective within the same game. Participants (n ¼ 40) played a slot machine simulation. The simulation delivered near-misses, wins and 'fullmisses'. Half the participants also received LDWs that occurred independently of the outcomes on the payline. Valence and motivation ratings were collected after each round. Results showed that the LDW group reported increased valence ratings compared to the no-LDW group. Within the LDW group, trials with LDWs also resulted in increased enjoyment compared to trials without LDWs. We distinguished near-misses falling either side of the payline. Near-misses before the payline (NMB) were rated as more motivational than near-misses after the payline (NMA), whereas NMAs were rated as more aversive than NMBs. These differences between the two near-miss types were exacerbated by LDWs. Results demonstrate LDWs increase the trial-by-trial enjoyment of non-win outcomes. The motivational and hedonic effects of near-misses differed for events either side of the payline, and these differences were exaggerated by the presence of LDWs. Thus, near-misses can retain their effectiveness in complex forms of gambling that also deliver LDWs.

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Psychophysiological arousal signatures of near-misses in slot machine play

Cited by 65 publications

References 44 publications

Amplified Striatal Responses to Near-Miss Outcomes in Pathological Gamblers

Amplified Striatal Responses to Near-Miss Outcomes in Pathological Gamblers

Damage to insula abolishes cognitive distortions during simulated gambling

Dual effects of ‘losses disguised as wins’ and near-misses in a slot machine game

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