39. CUE-INDUCED AND GAMBLING TASK RELATED BRAIN ACTIVITY IN PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLERS

Project Approved 2004-05

Dr. David Crockford (Principal Investigator)

Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary

Co-investigators:
Dr. Bradley Goodyear
Department of Clinical Neurosciences & Radiology, University of Calgary

Jodi Edwards
Seaman Family MR Research Centre, University of Calgary

Dr. Yuri Powers
Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary

Dr. Jeremy Quickfall
Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary

Dr. Nady el-Guebaly
Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary

Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) work by this research group found that pathological gamblers activate brain regions responsible for the experience and application of memory when exposed to audio-visual cues for gambling compared to matched control subjects. Prior experience with gambling and/or as yet not fully elucidated underlying functional differences in brain activity responsible for the experience of reward and conscious interpretation of cue importance may account for gambling acquiring salience to the pathological gambler and then being preferentially sought out. A further fMRI study is planned involving pathological gamblers being compared to controls to hopefully replicate prior findings in an expanded sample where the paradigm has been further refined. It will also attempt to test the comparative brain activity of pathological gamblers in response to reward experiences and decision making tasks.

Status (Complete)

Preliminary fMRI results suggest differences between PG subjects and controls during gambling in the caudate (striatum), orbifrontal cortex (OFC), and prefrontal cortex (PFC) where PG subjects demonstrate comparatively increased activity in these regions particularly with high risk deck choices. This finding suggests that high-risk, high-reward is of greater importance to PG subjects than to subjects having deficits in the perception or experience of punishment/negative consequences as being the potential basis to delayed or temporal discounting. Behavioural data needs to be further matched with fMRI data to evaluate components of gambling and brain activation patterns.

Power, Y., Crockford, D., Raedler, T., & Goodyear, B. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of a Novel Error Detection Task in Pathological Gamblers Compared to Matched Controls (accepted by Canadian Psychiatric Association, September, 2008 in Vancouver, B.C.).

Power, Y., Crockford, D., & Goodyear, B. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Iowa Gambling Task in Pathological Gamblers Compared to Matched Controls (accepted by Canadian Psychiatric Association, November 18, 2007 in Montreal, QC). 

The Alberta Gaming Research Institute provides grant funding to support peer-endorsed academic investigations into many aspects of gambling research. The contents, recommendations, and findings of the associated research reports, posted on this website, represent the views of the researcher(s).

 Last Updated: 09/10/08