Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T01:22:37.189Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A neurocognitive comparison of cognitive flexibility and response inhibition in gamblers with varying degrees of clinical severity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2011

B. L. Odlaug ,
S. R. Chamberlain ,
S. W. Kim ,
L. R. N. Schreiber  and
J. E. Grant
B. L. Odlaug*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
S. R. Chamberlain
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
S. W. Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
L. R. N. Schreiber
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
J. E. Grant
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: B. L. Odlaug, B.A., Department of Psychiatry, Ambulatory Research Center, University of Minnesota, 2450 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. (Email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

As a behavioral addiction with clinical and phenomenological similarities to substance addiction, recreational and pathological gambling represent models for studying the neurobiology of addiction, without the confounding deleterious brain effects which may occur from chronic substance abuse.

Method

A community sample of individuals aged 18–65 years who gamble was solicited through newspaper advertising. Subjects were grouped a priori into three groups (no-risk, at-risk, and pathological gamblers) based on a diagnostic interview. All subjects underwent a psychiatric clinical interview and neurocognitive tests assessing motor impulsivity and cognitive flexibility. Subjects with a current axis I disorder, history of brain injury/trauma, or implementation or dose changes of psychoactive medication within 6 weeks of study enrollment were excluded.

Results

A total of 135 no-risk, 69 at-risk and 46 pathological gambling subjects were assessed. Pathological gamblers were significantly older, and exhibited significant deficiencies in motor impulse control (stop-signal reaction times), response speed (median ‘go’ trial response latency) and cognitive flexibility [total intra-dimensional/extra-dimensional (IDED) errors] versus controls. The finding of impaired impulse control and cognitive flexibility was robust in an age-matched subgroup analysis of pathological gamblers. The no-risk and at-risk gambling groups did not significantly differ from each other on task performance.

Conclusions

Impaired response inhibition and cognitive flexibility exist in people with pathological gambling compared with no-risk and at-risk gamblers. The early identification of such illness in adolescence or young adulthood may aid in the prevention of addiction onset of such disabling disorders.

Keywords

Cognitiongamblingimpulsivity
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 41 , Issue 10 , October 2011 , pp. 2111 - 2119
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvarez-Moya, E, Jiménez-Murcia, S, Aymamí, MN, Gómez-Peña, M, Granero, R, Santamaría, J, Menchón, JM, Fernández-Aranda, F (2010). Subtyping study of a pathological gamblers sample. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 55, 498–506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aron, AR, Robbins, TW, Poldrack, RA (2004). Inhibition and the right inferior frontal cortex. Trends in Cognitive Science 8, 170–177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brand, M, Kalbe, E, Labudda, K, Fujiwara, E, Kessler, J, Markowitsch, HJ (2005). Decision-making impairments in patients with pathological gambling. Psychiatry Research 133, 91–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buckley, MJ, Mansouri, FA, Hoda, H, Mahboubi, M, Browning, PG, Kwok, SC, Phillips, A, Tanaka, K (2009). Dissociable components of rule-guided behavior depend on distinct medial and prefrontal regions. Science 325, 52–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cavedini, P, Riboldi, G, Keller, R, D'Annucci, A, Bellodi, L (2002). Frontal lobe dysfunction in pathological gambling patients. Biological Psychiatry 51, 334–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chamberlain, SR, Robbins, TW, Winder-Rhodes, S, Müller, U, Sahakian, BJ, Blackwell, AD, Barnett, JH (2010). Translational approaches to frontostriatal dysfunction in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder using a computerized neuropsychological battery. Biological Psychiatry. Published online: 2 November 2010. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.08.019.Google ScholarPubMed
Clark, L (2010). Decision-making during gambling: an integration of cognitive and psychobiological approaches. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Series B, Biological Sciences 365, 319–330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, BJ, Kwong, J, Michaud, V, Enns, MW (2000). Problem and probable pathological gambling: considerations from a community survey. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 45, 548–553.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cunningham-Williams, , Cottler, LB, Compton, WM 3rd, Spitznagel, EL (1998). Taking chances: problem gamblers and mental health disorders – results from the St. Louis Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study. American Journal of Public Health 88, 1093–1096.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ersche, KD, Clark, L, London, M, Robbins, TW, Sahakian, BJ (2006). Profile of executive and memory function associated with amphetamine and opiate dependence. Neuropsychopharmacology 31, 1036–1047.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fillmore, MT, Rush, CR (2002). Impaired inhibitory control of behavior in chronic cocaine users. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 66, 265–273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
First, MB, Spitzer, RL, Gibbon, M, Williams, JBW (1995). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-Patient Edition (SCID-I/P, Version 2.0). Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute: New York.Google Scholar
Forbush, KT, Shaw, M, Graeber, MA, Hovick, L, Meyer, VJ, Moser, DJ, Bayless, J, Watson, D, Black, DW (2008). Neuropsychological characteristics and personality traits in pathological gambling. CNS Spectrums 13, 306–315.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frisch, MB, Cornell, J, Villaneuva, M (1992). Clinical validation of the Quality of Life Inventory: a measure of life satisfaction for use in treatment planning and outcome assessment. Psychological Assessment 4, 92–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuentes, D, Tavares, H, Artes, R, Gorenstein, C (2006). Self-reported and neuropsychological measures of impulsivity in pathological gambling. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 12, 907–912.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goudriaan, AE, Oosterlaan, J, de Beurs, E, van den Brink, W (2005). Decision making in pathological gambling: a comparison between pathological gamblers, alcohol dependents, persons with Tourette syndrome, and normal controls. Brain Research: Cognitive Brain Research 23, 137–151.Google ScholarPubMed
Goudriaan, AE, Oosterlaan, J, de Beurs, E, van den Brink, W (2006). Neurocognitive functions in pathological gambling: a comparison with alcohol dependence, Tourette syndrome and normal controls. Addiction 101, 534–547.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grant, JE, Levine, L, Kim, D, Potenza, MN (2005). Impulse control disorders in adult psychiatric inpatients. American Journal of Psychiatry 162, 2184–2188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grant, JE, Potenza, MN, Weinstein, A, Gorelick, DA (2010). Introduction to behavioral addictions. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 36, 233–241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grant, JE, Steinberg, MA, Kim, SW, Rounsaville, BJ, Potenza, MN (2004). Preliminary validity and reliability testing of a structured clinical interview for pathological gambling (SCI-PG). Psychiatry Research 128, 79–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hampshire, A, Chamberlain, SR, Monti, MM, Duncan, J, Owen, AM (2010). The role of the right inferior frontal gyrus: inhibition and attentional control. Neuroimage 50, 1313–1319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hampshire, A, Owen, AM (2006). Fractionating attentional control using event-related fMRI. Cerebral Cortex 16, 1679–1689.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kertzman, S, Lowengrub, K, Aizer, A, Vainder, M, Kotler, M, Dannon, PN (2008). Go-no-go performance in pathological gamblers. Psychiatry Research 161, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, AJ, Luty, J, Bogdan, NA, Sahakian, BJ, Clark, L (2009). Impulsivity and response inhibition in alcohol dependence and problem gambling. Psychopharmacology (Berlin) 207, 163–172.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lezak, MD, Howieson, DB, Loring, DW, Hannay, HJ, Fischer, JS (2004). Neuropsychological Assessment. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Logan, GD, Cowan, WB, Davis, KA (1984). On the ability to inhibit simple and choice reaction time responses: a model and a method. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 10, 276–291.Google Scholar
Marazziti, D, Dell'Osso, MC, Conversano, C, Consoli, G, Vivarelli, L, Mungai, F, Di Nasso, E, Golia, F (2008). Executive function abnormalities in pathological gamblers. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health 4, 7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monterosso, JR, Aron, AR, Cordova, X, Xu, J, London, ED (2005). Deficits in response inhibition associated with chronic methamphetamine abuse. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 79, 273–277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pallanti, S, DeCaria, CM, Grant, JE, Urpe, M, Hollander, E (2005). Reliability and validity of the pathological gambling adaptation of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (PG-YBOCS). Journal of Gambling Studies 21, 431–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petry, NM, Stinson, FS, Grant, BF (2005). Comorbidity of DSM-IV pathological gambling and other psychiatric disorders: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 66, 564–574.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Potenza, MN (2008). Review. The neurobiology of pathological gambling and drug addiction: an overview and new findings. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences 363, 3181–3189.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roca, M, Torralva, T, López, P, Cetkovich, M, Clark, L, Manes, F (2008). Executive functions in pathologic gamblers selected in an ecologic setting. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology 21, 1–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriguez-Jimenez, R, Avila, C, Jimenez-Arriero, MA, Ponce, G, Monasor, R, Jimenez, M, Aragües, M, Hoenicka, J, Rubio, G, Palomo, T (2006). Impulsivity and sustained attention in pathological gamblers: influence of childhood ADHD history. Journal of Gambling Studies 22, 451–461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rugle, L, Melamed, L (1993). Neuropsychological assessment of attention problems in pathological gamblers. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 181, 107–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schreiber, L, Odlaug, BL, Kim, SW, Grant, JE (2009). Characteristics of pathological gamblers with a problem gambling parent. American Journal on Addictions 18, 462–469.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shaffer, HJ, Hall, MN, Vander Bilt, J (1999). Estimating the prevalence of disordered gambling behavior in the United States and Canada: a research synthesis. American Journal of Public Health 89, 1369–1376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Topf, JL, Yip, SW, Potenza, MN (2009). Pathological gambling: biological and clinical considerations. Journal of Addiction Medicine 3, 111–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Holst, RJ, van den Brink, W, Veltman, DJ, Goudriaan, AE (2010 a). Brain imaging studies in pathological gambling. Current Psychiatry Reports 12, 418–425.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Holst, RJ, van den Brink, W, Veltman, DJ, Goudriaan, AE (2010 b). Why gamblers fail to win: a review of cognitive and neuroimaging findings in pathological gambling. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 34, 87–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wareham, JD, Potenza, MN (2010). Pathological gambling and substance use disorders. American Journal on Drug and Alcohol Abuse 36, 242–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed