Brain Makeup, Not Casino Proliferation, Causes Problem Gambling
Evidence continues to mount that problem gambling may be a symptom of physiological and neurological issues in the brain. An experiment conducted to verify the Somatic Marker Hypothesis showed gambling decisions cause significant activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, an area previously identified as physically different in problem gamblers.
While many anti-gambling activists denounce the spread of casinos and the advent of online gambling as the root cause of compulsive gambling issues, science is finding that problem gambling is essentially an outlet for mental disturbances that may well be caused by physical and chemical differences in the brains of problem gamblers.
The Iowa Gambling Task used Magnetic Reasonance Imaging to detail neural activity during situations of anticipation versus outcome, winning versus losing, and correction of errors. In normal cases, prefrontal cortex activity was heaviest in punishment or losing phases.
Lawrence Anderson, Online Casino Advisory expert in problem gambling, said, 'The issue begins with a proper definition of a 'problem gambler.' The category does not include a player who happens to overextend himself, causing stress but also resulting in a change in behavior, i.e. much more cautious play, if any gambling at all occurs.
"The true problem gambler cannot alter his behavior; getting stung only results in continued attempts at the same methodology which first led to losing. More and more empirical evidence indicates those who are truly problem gamblers are using wagering as a release of deeper problems, which seem to be a result of physical properties of the brain.
If gambling foes really care about problem gamblers, they will call for more study into proper therapy, including pharmaceutical treatments."
