Alternation learning in pathological gamblers: an fMRI Study.
Brain Imaging Behav
; 5(1): 45-51, 2011 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21080118
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
We have previously reported that pathological gamblers have impaired performance on the Stroop color word naming task, go-no-go task and speed accuracy tradeoff performance, tasks used to assess executive function and interference control. The aim of the present neuroimaging study was to explore the relationship between frontal cortex function and gambling severity in pathological gamblers. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to estimate brain activity of ten male medication-free pathological gamblers during performance of an alternation learning task. Performance of this task has been shown to depend on the function of regions in the frontal cortex.RESULTS:
The executive functions needed to perform the alternation learning task were expressed as brain activation in lateral and medial frontal as well as parietal and occipital regions. By correlating the level of local brain activation to task performance, parietal regions and lateral frontal and orbitofrontal regions were demonstrated. A higher score in SOGS was associated with intrusion on the task-specific activation in the left hemisphere, to some extant in parietal regions and even more pronouncedly in left frontal and orbitofrontal regions.CONCLUSIONS:
Our preliminary data suggests that pathological gambling may be characterized by specific neuro-cognitive changes related to the frontal cortex.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Jogo de Azar
/
Aprendizagem
Limite:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Brain Imaging Behav
Assunto da revista:
CEREBRO
/
CIENCIAS DO COMPORTAMENTO
/
DIAGNOSTICO POR IMAGEM
Ano de publicação:
2011
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Israel