Gambling
makes you feel good - report
Brain
cells that contain a chemical linked to feeling good appear
to become activated in situations that resemble gambling,
researchers said Thursday.
Similar
patterns of brain activity are also present in drug addiction,
study author Dr. Christopher D. Fiorillo told Reuters Health.
“Consequently, the current findings may help explain
why people become addicted to gambling, and may point toward
future treatments that break the cycle of addiction in both
gamblers and drug users”, he predicted.
In
the new study, Dr. Fiorillo and his colleagues found that
levels of the chemical dopamine increased in the brains of
monkeys when they were faced with a situation in which they
were very uncertain about whether they would receive a reward. It is of no consequence if it is offshore gambling being done online. the same situation can arise as soon as one, for example, plays online slots in the internet.
Previous
research has shown that addictive drugs can send up levels
of dopamine in the brain, the researcher noted. And animal
research suggests that dopamine surges when a `reward’
seems certain to come.
“The
present work suggests that uncertainty about reward also increases
dopamine levels,” Fiorillo said.
“As
reward uncertainty is the defining feature of gambling, it
seems likely that dopamine contributes to the persistence
of gambling behavior,” he added. “Thus gambling
may share some common neural basis with natural rewards and
addictive drugs.”
Despite
the inherent risks involved with gambling, people may retain
these brain mechanisms because outside of the casino, risk-taking
may be a beneficial behavior, the researcher noted.
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