A New Chapter In Gambling Research

Welcome to the Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders and the first edition ofIssues & Insights. Here we’ll keep you updated on the latest issues and research on gambling disorders and related topics, including feature posts from some of the leading researchers in this field. For this inaugural edition, we’re reflecting on a new chapter for both the Institute and the field of research on gambling disorders.

In 1996, when I was appointed the executive director of theNational Center for Responsible Gaming(NCRG)—the organization that provides the Institute’s funding—our understanding of why some people develop a gambling addiction was very limited. To remedy this knowledge gap, we launched the first competitive grants program for research on the disorder. At our first review meeting, Dr. Jim Langenbucher of Rutgers University, a member of the distinguished peer review panel, likened the field of gambling research to the “Wild, Wild West” and recommended a grants program that welcomed all types of investigations, from studies of the genetics of gambling disorders, to drug trials, to public health research.

The infusion of money, the openness to a wide range of topics and a commitment to the most rigorous scientific standards have created a burgeoning field that continues to expand thanks to the work of scientists around the world. NCRG-funded grants awarded through the Institute have yielded the publication of more than 150 articles in influential, peer-reviewed journals. We’re proud that the NCRG and Institute have played a role in launching the gambling research field.

After 13 years of grant-making, the NCRG decided that sustained focus on key issues should be the next step to promote seminal research. Consequently, we restructured and renamed the Institute (formerly the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders) to support the newNCRG Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research, which currently are located at Yale University and the University of Minnesota. The centers will zero in on basic issues such as how to identify young adults at risk for disordered gambling and what factors affect treatment outcomes. Although we have retooled our funding strategy to better meet the needs of a changing research landscape, our commitment to the highest standards and to the ultimate goal of effective prevention and treatment remains paramount.

Those familiar with the NCRG and the Institute may be asking, why the name change? Like our refocused grant-making strategy, our new moniker also has a direct correlation with the changing research landscape. The new name, Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders, reflects recent research that questions the term “pathological gambling” as used in the American Psychiatric Association’sDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV). This diagnostic code does not provide for the levels of severity of disordered gambling behavior that have been observed in research and in clinical practice. The new name better conveys this concept and, as such, more accurately reflects the conditions of the individuals we hope will be helped by our research and programs.

I hope you’ll continue to visit us atwww.gamblingdisorders.orgfor updates on our research and education programs, as well as new editions ofIssues & Insightsand our other publications.

Christine Reilly Executive Director, Institute for Research on Gambling DisordersIssues & Insights

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Risk-taking Rats May Help Advance Treatments For Gambling Disorders

At first glance, research on lab rats who “gamble” might seem either fodder for jokes or irrelevant to the search for solutions for gambling disorders; however, recently published findings of an NCRG-funded investigation at the University of British Columbia demonstrates that such research represents, as Dr. Marc Potenza of Yale University observed, a “significant step forward” that could eventually lead to new treatments for pathological gambling.

The article, “Serotonergic and Dopaminergic Modulation of Gambling Behavior as Assessed Using a Novel Rat Gambling Task,”1was published last month in Neuropsychopharmacology, the fifth-most cited psychiatry journal in the world. The authors reported that rats were able to successfully learn to “play the odds” in a gambling task, modeling human gambling behavior. According to theVancouver Sun, Dr. Catharine Winstanley, one of the study’s authors, called the study “an important first step in offering clues into what neurotransmitters or what brain chemicals are involved in regulating gambling behavior.” In 2006, Winstanleyreceived a New Investigator Grantof $57,500 from the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG), through the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders (now the Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders), to help support this investigation.

During the task, the rats were able to choose from four options that differed in the probability and magnitude of food rewards and timeouts (i.e., penalty periods during which no food would be dispensed). High-stake options offered more sugar pellets, but choosing the high-stakes options also was more likely to trigger longer timeouts. According to the study, rats learned how to be “successful” gamblers, selecting the option with the optimum level of risk and reward to maximize their sugar pellet profits over time.

The study also found the rats’ decision-making became significantly impaired in the gambling task when they were treated with drugs that affected the levels of dopamine and serotonin – two neurotransmitters in the brain implicated in impulse control and drug addiction. According to the study, this suggests a role for these neurochemicals in moderating gambling behavior and a potential method of researching new leads for the development of pharmacological treatments for this disorder.

Michael Bozarth, associate professor of psychology at the University of Buffalo, the State University of New York, underscored the significance of animal models for research on gambling: “The development of adequate animal models such as that reported by Winstanley and her coworkers opens the door to studying the impact of direct manipulation of brain function and to exploring the effects of illicit drugs on gambling behavior. These types of studies, not possible in human subjects, are likely to lead to important breakthroughs in our understanding of pathological gambling just like comparable animal models were crucial to a better understanding of drug addiction.”

Dr. Winstanley established the Laboratory of Molecular and Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia. She currently is a Michael Smith Early Career Scholar and has received numerous awards for her research, including the 2008 Wyeth Award for outstanding research in Preclinical Psychopharmacology.

References

1Zeeb FD, Robbins TW, Winstanley CA. Serotonergic and Dopaminergic Modulation of Gambling Behavior as Assessed Using a Novel Rat Gambling Task. Neuropsychopharmacology. Jun 17 2009.

Christine Reilly Executive Director, Institute for Research on Gambling DisordersIssues & Insightsanimal modelnew research

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