title: Cognitive Inflexibility in Gamblers is Primarily Present in Reward-Related Decision Making.
abstract: One hallmark of gambling disorder (GD) is the observation that gamblers have problems stopping their gambling behavior once it is initiated. On a neuropsychological level, it has been hypothesized that this is the result of a cognitive inflexibility. The present study investigated cognitive inflexibility in patients with GD using a task involving cognitive inflexibility with a reward element (i.e., reversal learning) and a task measuring general cognitive inflexibility without such a component (i.e., response perseveration). For this purpose, scores of a reward-based reversal learning task (probabilistic reversal learning task) and the Wisconsin card sorting task were compared between a group of treatment seeking patients with GD and a gender and age matched control group. The results show that pathological gamblers have impaired performance on the neurocognitive task measuring reward-based cognitive inflexibility. However, no difference between the groups is observed regarding non-reward-based cognitive inflexibility. This suggests that cognitive inflexibility in GD is the result of an aberrant reward-based learning, and not based on a more general problem with cognitive flexibility. The pattern of observed problems is suggestive of a dysfunction of the orbitofrontal cortex, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and the ventral regions of the striatum in gamblers. Relevance for the neurocognition of problematic gambling is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Bouman Mental Health Care , Rotterdam , Netherlands ; Institute of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam , Rotterdam , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Michiel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boog
authors.affiliation: Bouman Mental Health Care , Rotterdam , Netherlands ; Reinier van Arkel Groep , 's-Hertogenbosch , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Höppener
authors.affiliation: Bouman Mental Health Care , Rotterdam , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ben J M
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: V D Wetering
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , Netherlands ; Arkin Mental Health Care , Amsterdam , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anna E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Goudriaan
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC , Rotterdam , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Matthijs C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Boog
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam , Rotterdam , Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ingmar H A
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Franken
keywords: WCST; cognitive inflexibility; gambling disorder; reversal learning; reward-based