Increased ventral-striatal activity during monetary decision making is a marker of problem poker gambling severity

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of different neural systems on monetary decision-making in frequent poker gamblers, who vary in their degree of problem gambling. Fifteen frequent poker players, ranging from non-problem to high-problem gambling, and fifteen non-gambler controls were scanned using fMRI while performing the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). During IGT deck selection, between-groups fMRI analyses showed that frequent poker gamblers exhibited higher ventral–striatal but lower dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal activations, as compared to controls. Moreover, by using functional connectivity analyses, we observed higher ventral striatal connectivity in poker players, and in regions involved in attentional/motor control (posterior cingulate), visual (occipital gyrus) and auditory (temporal gyrus) processing. In poker gamblers, scores of problem gambling severity were positively associated with ventral-striatal activations and with the connectivity between the ventral-striatum seed and the occipital fusiform gyrus and the middle temporal gyrus. Present results are consistent with findings from recent brain-imaging studies showing that gambling disorder is associated with heightened motivational-reward processes during monetary decision-making, which may hamper one’s ability to moderate his level of monetary risk-taking.

Behavioral and Neural Arguments of Motivational Influence on Decision Making During Uncertainty

“…Additionally, Voss et al (2008) used a color discrimination task to demonstrate that results in ambiguous situations were more influenced by the motivational level. Furthermore, both motivation and decision-making under uncertainty seem to be altered in the same neuropsychiatric (Cella et al, 2010;Treadway et al, 2012Treadway et al, , 2014Kim et al, 2016) and addictive disorders (Brevers et al, 2016), lending support for a link between these two concepts. Moreover, in an electrophysiological study using eventrelated potentials (ERPs), a P300 was observed following a loss of money in participants able to develop a correct strategy at the IGT (Giustiniani et al, 2015).…”

Differentiation between young adult Internet addicts, smokers, and healthy controls by the interaction between impulsivity and temporal lobe thickness

“…In an fMRI study with healthy adults, Xue, Lu, Levin, and Bechara (2010) suggest that activation in the insula signals a gambling urge (Tényi, Gyimesi, Kovács, Tényi, & Janszky, 2016). Moreover, it has been proposed (Brevers, Noël, He, Melrose, & Bechara, 2016;Verdejo-García & Bechara, 2009) that this urge might facilitate the seeking of immediate rewards.…”

Dissociable neural processes during risky decision-making in individuals with Internet-gaming disorder

“…Similarly, the IPL, implicated in processing uncertainty (Vickery and Jiang, 2009), has been found to function differently during decision-making in individuals with and without IGD (Dong and Potenza, 2015). In addition, the insula, OFC and ACC have been implicated in risk representation (Naqvi et al, 2014, Schonberg et al, 2011), the abnormal activation of which has been related to impaired risk-taking in addicted populations (Brevers et al, 2015, Gowin et al, 2014, Paulus et al, 2008). Taken together, these central brain structures may contribute importantly to impaired decision-making in IGD.…”