Evolutionary mismatch, neural reward circuits, and pathological gambling.
Evolutionary mismatch theory has been applied to disorders of self-regulation such as maladaptive eating patterns and drug abuse. Modern gambling represents a refinement of the elements of risk and chance, which draw upon the faculties of judgment and novelty-seeking. A set of neuroanatomical structures, including prefrontal-subcortical systems and associated limbic structures, have been implicated in the processing of reward and punishment, including gambling-related situations. Neurobiological systems guiding choice and behavior have evolved to maximize chances for survival under hunter-gatherer conditions, and modern gambling represents an abrupt departure from these circumstances, sometimes resulting in pathological gambling.
Spinella
Marcello
M
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, P.O. Box 195, Pomona, NJ 08240, USA. Marcello.Spinella@stockton.edu
D005075:Biological Evolution; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009434:Neural Pathways; D009484:Neuropsychology; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012309:Risk-Taking