Funded Research

“Rules, Rewards, and Decisions in the Orbital Prefrontal Cortex”

Principal Investigator: Charan Ranganath, Ph.D., University of California-Davis
Awarded $170,291 in 2003

Aim: Test hypothesis that low extraversion scores and reduced dopamine levels predispose some to develop a gambling problem.

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Cohen, M. X., & Ranganath, C. (2005). Behavioral and neural predictors of upcoming decisions. Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 5(2), 117–26.

Cohen, M. X., Young, J., Baek, J. M., Kessler, C., & Ranganath, C. (2005). Individual differences in extraversion and dopamine genetics predict neural reward responses. Cognitive Brain Research, 25(3), 851–861. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2005.09.018

Ranganath, C., & Blumenfeld, R. S. (2005). Doubts about double dissociations between short- and long-term memory. Trends in Cognitive Science, 9(8), 374–80. http://doi.org/S1364-6613(05)00181-6

Ranganath, C. (2006). Working memory for visual objects: complementary roles of inferior temporal, medial temporal, and prefrontal cortex. Neuroscience, 139(1), 277–89. http://doi.org/S0306-4522(05)00730-X [pii] 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.06.092

Ranganath, C., Cohen, M. X., & Brozinsky, C. J. (2005). Working memory maintenance contributes to long-term memory formation: neural and behavioral evidence. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17(7), 994–1010. http://doi.org/10.1162/0898929054475118

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“Functional MRI of Decision-Making in Substance Abuse and Pathological Gambling”

Principal Investigator: Jody Tanabe, MD, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Awarded $172,500 in 2003

Aim: Test hypothesis that defects in ventral medial frontal processing lead to impaired decisions that involve risk.

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Tanabe, J., Thompson, L., Claus, E., Dalwani, M., Hutchison, K., & Banich, M. T. (2007). Prefrontal cortex activity is reduced in gambling and nongambling substance users during decision-making. Human Brain Mapping, 28(12), 1276–86. http://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.20344

Tanabe, J., Tregellas, J. R., Thompson, L., Dalwani, M., Owens, E., Crowley, T., & Banich, M. (2009). Medial orbitofrontal cortex gray matter is reduced in abstinent substance dependent individuals. Biological Psychiatry, 65(2), 160–164. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.07.030

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“Dopamine Release in Response to Monetary Reward Measured with Positron Emission Tomography”

Principal Investigator: Alain Dagher, MD, McGill University
Awarded $156,634 in 2003

Aim: Examine whether reduced dopamine levels is a marker for vulnerability to gambling addiction. The hypothesis is that compared to controls, pathological gamblers will show elevated dopamine release correlates with novelty-seeking personality type, cortisol levels and autonomic and mood measures.

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Young Investigator Marc N. Potenza, M.D., Ph.D.

‍Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Problem Gambling Clinic
Yale University School of Medicine

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