Knowing when to stop: the brain mechanisms of chasing losses.
BACKGROUND
Continued gambling to recover previous losses ("loss-chasing") is central to pathological gambling. However, very little is known about the neural mechanisms that mediate this behavior.


METHODS
We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural activity while healthy adult participants decided to chase losses or decided to quit gambling to prevent further losses.


RESULTS
Chasing losses was associated with increased activity in cortical areas linked to incentive-motivation and an expectation of reward. By contrast, quitting was associated with decreased activity in these areas but increased activity in areas associated with anxiety and conflict monitoring. Activity within the anterior cingulate cortex associated with the experience of chasing and then losing predicted decisions to stop chasing losses at the next opportunity.


CONCLUSIONS
Excessive loss-chasing behavior in pathological gambling might involve a failure to appropriately balance activity within neural systems coding conflicting motivational states. Similar mechanisms might underlie the loss-of-control over appetitive behaviors in other impulse control disorders.
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Daniel K
DK
Campbell-Meiklejohn
Mark W
MW
Woolrich
Richard E
RE
Passingham
Robert D
RD
Rogers
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011594:Psychometrics
D010100:Oxygen