 |
|
|
|
|
May 7th, 2010
03:53 PM ET
In gambling, brain explains attraction of near-misses
By Elizabeth Landau You pull the lever on the slot machine and get two cherries and a lemon. Or you throw down dice and get a six, then an eight, when you were aiming for a seven. So close! Play again! We get a rush from playing games that we feel like we've almost won, but have lost by a small margin. For people who gamble, the allure of the "near miss" can keep the dice rolling, the slots turning, and the money slipping away. A new study in the Journal of Neuroscience looks deeper into the mind of the gambler. Psychology researchers Henry Chase and Luke Clark looked at 20 regular gamblers. Participants varied from recreational gamblers to "pathological gamblers," meaning their habits may interfere with everyday life. Researchers scanned the brains of these gamblers while they performed a simplified slot machine task. Although the sample size is small, studies that make use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tend to have fewer participants than survey-based experiments, and can still have important implications. The study found that near-miss outcomes during gambling involve the brain's reward system; in particular, areas called the ventral striatum and the anterior insula. A previous study on healthy volunteers also found that near misses are linked with heightened activity in these same brain regions associated with monetary wins. Scientists have long known that a small cluster of brain cells that release a chemical called dopamine have been associated with addiction, but there has never been a clear explanation for it. "This study provides an important advance in our understanding of how the brain's reward circuits underlie one form of addictive behavior, pathological gambling," said Steven Quartz, director of the California Institute of Technology’s Brain, Mind, and Society Ph.D. program, who was not involved in the study. "Many modern games of chance, especially slot machines, compel some people to play repeatedly even when they are not winning," he said in an e-mail. Chase and Clark also showed that the more severe a person's gambling is, the more these near misses trigger the reward circuit. But the brain region in question is also involved in learning. That means the gambler's brain may be "tricked" into thinking that it is learning new information about the environment through near misses, Quartz said. "Ultimately, a better understanding of the rewarding effects of near misses may have implications for both treating problem gambling and for regulatory practices of the gambling industry," he said. The authors noted that they did not take into account such conditions as nicotine dependence and personality disorders, which may have impacted the brains and behaviors of participants. Also,the group of regular gamblers in this study was almost all male. Further research is necessary to determine more conclusively how the minds of gamblers work. Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation soundoff (988 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20Post a comment
« Previous entryThree questions for Prudence Mahbena
|
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
 |
|
|
|
https://www.getouw.be/tellafriend.aspx?url=https://ocrvandtrucks.com/
http://denver-rtd.info/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=fleetservicerepairshop.com
https://www.ballpark-sanjo.com/feed2js/feed2js.php?src=http://www.ocrv.us
http://www.londonltd.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvpaintandservice.com
150 mg sildenafil https://pharmaceptica.com/
http://danis-bois.fr/?wptouch_switch=desktop&redirect=http://newportcatalina.com/
Hi there, I believe your website may be having browser compatibility issues. When I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however, if opening in I.E., it's got some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Aside from that, great site!
https://www.eneffect.bg/language.php?url=http://rvcollisionrepairpaintshop.com/
You're so cool! I don't suppose I have read anything like this before. So great to discover someone with some unique thoughts on this topic. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This web site is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality!
http://www.estate-ware.com/dev/sites/topwonen2.asp?URL=http://ocrvmotorsports.net/
http://linky.hu/go?fr=http://freeware.linky.hu/&url=https://ocrv.store/
Best view i have ever seen !
https://maps.google.mv/url?q=https://www.songmanhits.com
Very nice article. I absolutely love this site. Keep it up!
http://bw.irr.by/knock.php?bid=252583&link=https://ocrvcenter.co
Great information. Lucky me I found your blog by chance (stumbleupon). I've bookmarked it for later!
https://dms.netmng.com/si/cm/tracking/clickredirect.aspx?siclientid=4712&iogtrid=6.271153&redirecturl=https://ocrvcenter.co&u=
http://www.burg-greifenstein.de/cms/page/mod/url/url.php?eid=14&urlpf=https://customcampervans.com
Can I simply say what a comfort to find a person that genuinely knows what they're discussing on the web. You certainly realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people must look at this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you're not more popular since you most certainly have the gift.
http://www.ikub.al/PageRedirect.aspx?name=HP15_Magazine&url=https://ocrvcenter.net
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post! It's the little changes that make the most significant changes. Thanks for sharing!
https://track.afftck.com/track/clicks/4544/ce2bc2ba9d0724d6efcda67f8835ce13286e45c971ecf0ab416db6006300?subid_1=&subid_2=&subid_3=&subid_4=&subid_5=&t=http://ocrvcenter.info
https://pmr.uni-pannon.hu/page.php?pageid=17&redirect=http://ocrvmotorsports.org/
https://www.salonspot.net/sclick/sclick.php?UID=www.toukaen.eei.jp&URL=http://ocrvmotorcoachsales.com/34zxVq8
I blog often and I really thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest. I will take a note of your blog and keep checking for new details about once per week. I subscribed to your Feed too.
https://www.pet-fufu.com/cgi-bin/pet/rank.cgi?mode=link&id=6054&url=http://ocrvempire.com/
After looking into a number of the blog posts on your web site, I really appreciate your way of blogging. I saved it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back in the near future. Take a look at my web site too and let me know what you think.
http://www.vets.ne.jp/cgi/jump_link.cgi?URL=http://ocrvcenter.net/
Everything is very open with a very clear description of the issues. It was really informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing!
http://yp.timesfreepress.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrv.world
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this post and the rest of the website is also very good.
http://www.s-angels.com/mkr/out.cgi?id=04877&go=https://ocrv.guru
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful article. Many thanks for providing this information.
https://www.streetwisereports.com/cs/blank/main?x-p=click/fwd&rec=ads/443&url=https://www.ocrvmotorsports.biz/
http://www.assnavi.com/link/out.cgi?URL=https://ocrvcenter.com
Everything is very open with a precise explanation of the challenges. It was really informative. Your website is very useful. Many thanks for sharing!
http://www2.rhino3d.com/common/cookies/setcookie.asp?language=it&return=http://ocrvparts.com/
Iím impressed, I have to admit. Seldom do I come across a blog thatís equally educative and entertaining, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is something that too few men and women are speaking intelligently about. I'm very happy that I found this in my search for something regarding this.
https://nas.kssh.khc.edu.tw/school/imglink/hits.php?id=2&url=https://ocrvcenter.org/
https://go.pnuna.com/go.php?url=http://ocrv.biz
Your style is so unique in comparison to other people I have read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just bookmark this page.
http://soft.dfservice.com/cgi-bin/lite/out.cgi?ses=MD5NsepAlJ&id=7&url=https://ocrvcenter.mobi
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon everyday. It's always exciting to read through articles from other authors and practice something from other web sites.
http://newsletter.symposionhotels.at/redirect.php?target=http://sprinterrepairnearme.com
https://www.designguide.com/redirect.ashx?url=http://ocrv.me
wow, awesome post. Really Cool.
https://bit.ly/3x2ZiGJ
http://intranet.fundaciones.org/AEF_ADMIN/GEA-SEND/click.php?id=em541024401f48c&idparent=cw54102032a42d4&customer=cw4b7d69c7427ca&email=nievescuenca@leucemiaylinfoma.com&status=2&url=https://www.ocrvexperts.com
http://www.kingzhuyun.com/responsive?url=https://www.rvmarketingexperts.com/
Aw, this was an exceptionally nice post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to create a great articleÖ but what can I sayÖ I put things off a whole lot and don't seem to get nearly anything done.
http://www.hyoito-fda.com/out.php?url=https://ocrvmotorsports.co/
I really like it whenever people get together and share opinions. Great site, keep it up!
https://ams.ceu.edu/optimal/optimal.php?url=https://www.ocrvcenter.biz&refresh=1
chloroquina https://www.pharmaceptica.com/
Has anyone vaped Cloud Nurdz eJuice E-Juice?
http://www.businesstomark.com/use-of-cbd-oil-for-the-purpose-of-relieving-pain/
http://launchbox-emailservices.ca/mail/t.aspx?S=59&ID=9110&NL=135&N=12353&SI=1448518&URL=http://ocrvmotorsports.life