Gambling Impulses Revealed

A team from the California Institute of Technology headed by Steve Quartz has shed new light on the subject of gambling impulse. Researchers claim that studies carried out on gambling activities have revealed that gambling activities are processed by a central part of the brain known as the "subcortical". 

In their findings published in the professional journal "Neuron," the researchers claimed the study is an important step in helping to understand and even treat extreme risk-taking behaviour common in a range of mental disorders including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The team found they could distinguish brain regions that specifically responded to either reward expectation or risk. These areas showed activity that increased with the level of expected reward and perceived risk. The researchers found that the activation related to expected reward was immediate, while the activation related to risk was delayed.

Studies on brain function are important tools in the development of treatment approaches and may assist in programmes designed to treat gambling addiction in the future.

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