Dopamine release in ventral striatum of pathological gamblers losing money.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate dopaminergic neurotransmission in relation to monetary reward and punishment in pathological gambling. Pathological gamblers (PG) often continue gambling despite losses, known as 'chasing one's losses'. We therefore hypothesized that losing money would be associated with increased dopamine release in the ventral striatum of PG compared with healthy controls (HC).


METHODS
We used Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with [(11)C]raclopride to measure dopamine release in the ventral striatum of 16 PG and 15 HC playing the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT).


RESULTS
PG who lost money had significantly increased dopamine release in the left ventral striatum compared with HC. PG and HC who won money did not differ in dopamine release.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest a dopaminergic basis of monetary losses in pathological gambling, which might explain loss-chasing behavior. The findings may have implications for the understanding of dopamine dysfunctions and impaired decision-making in pathological gambling and substance-related addictions.
Linnet
Jakob
J
Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. linnet@pet.auh.dk
Peterson
E
E
Doudet
D J
DJ
Gjedde
A
A
Møller
A
A
D000328:Adult; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology; D005715:Gambling / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011678:Punishment / Q000523:psychology; D012201:Reward; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
D004298:Dopamine