The neuroscience and neuropsychology of gambling and gambling addiction: an introduction to the special issue

Abstract

Neuroscience research on gambling, including neuropsychological, neuroimaging, and psychophysiological experiments, is often regarded as aligned with the 'brain disease model of addictions' . We assert that a bio-psycho-social framework represents the consensus view of disordered gambling, giving equal weighting to biological and psychosocial predisposing factors (and their interactions). Within this framework, we highlight three ways in which neuroscience can inform gambling research -none of which rely on one's endorsement of biological 'causal explanations': i) as a toolbox of objective measures for studying gambling behaviour, ii) as a way of understanding treatment mechanisms, of both psychological and biological treatments, iii) as a way of probing the impact of gambling product features relevant to gambling policy.

Emotion Regulation and Desire Thinking as Predictors of Problematic Facebook Use

“…Along with difficulties in emotion regulation, Hormes and colleagues (2014) have shown that problematic Facebook users tend to also report high levels of craving. Craving is a powerful and automatic experience that motivates people to seek out the craved activity (Marlatt, 1987;Spada, Caselli, Slaifer, Nikcevic, & Sassaroli, 2014) and is characterized by strong physiological 'markers' typically involved in substance and behavioural addictions (e.g., Blaine, Nautiyal, Hart, Guarnaccia, & Sinha, 2018;Wise & Koob, 2014;Clark & Goudriaan, 2018). It follows that a strong urge to access social networking sites might be a predictor of PFU.…”

Neural cue-reactivity in pathological gambling as evidence for behavioral addiction: a systematic review

“…These could be used to design and improve more effective psychological treatments in the future, along with empirical-based prevention campaigns. Furthermore, these studies allow us to have more reliable and objective measures of craving, specify the underlying brain mechanisms of psychological therapies or help to improve responsible gambling advertising policies (Clark & Goudriaan, 2018 ). In this sense, early detection and prevention could be better assessed and designed on the basis of brain reactivity measures.…”

Betting on Your Feelings: The Interplay between Emotion and Cognition in Gambling Affective Task

“…Gambling Disorder (GD) appears to result from a combination of factors interacting at different levels [1] and can be considered a bio-psycho-social disorder [2,3]. Firstly, according to the literature review, individuals with previous psychopathological disorders, such as substance abuse, mood, anxiety, and personality disorders, are more likely to suffer from GD [1,4,5].…”