Pathological gambling: neuroimaging, neuropsychology and personality analyses

Author(s)

Daniel Fuentes Moreira

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo. , gráficos, ilustrações, tabelas.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina (FM/SBD)
• Defense date: 2004-08-24

Examining board members

Clarice Gorenstein; Orlando Francisco Amodeu Bueno; Paulo Caramelli; Lucia Maria Salvia Coelho; Maria Teresa de Araujo Silva

• Advisor: Clarice Gorenstein
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Indexed in: Banco de Dados Bibliográficos da USP-DEDALUS; Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações - USP
• Location: Universidade de São Paulo. Biblioteca Central da Faculdade de Medicina; FM/W4.DB8 SP.USP FM-2; M837j

Abstract

High impulsivity and neuropsychological deficits associated to frontal lobes, specifically executive dysfunction, are reported among pathological gamblers (PG). In order to better understand the pathological gambling phenomena, the aim of this study was to verity the ability of personality measures, neuropsychological tests and brain structures to discriminate a sample of pathological gamblers from a sample of normal volunteers. A two-study format was adopted evaluating 50 pathological gamblers matched to 50 healthy volunteers according to gender, age and years of formal education. The neuropsychological measures consisted of classic and computerized tests that evaluate attentional and executive functions. Personality traits were measured by self-report scales developed under different theoretical approaches. Neuroimage data were analyzed using an optimized Voxel-Based Morphometric protocol. The scores obtained on the neuropsychological tests and self-report inventories showed that pathological gamblers present executive dysfunction and high personality traits of impulsivity and compulsivity. The magnetic resonance imaging of pathological gamblers showed smaller caudate volume on the left hemisphere and larger prefontal dorsolateral areas on left frontal cortex than the control group. An association between posterior and anterior cingulated, basal ganglia sub regions and compulsivity and impulsivity was also found too. These data suggest that pathological gamblers have dysfunctional brain circuits implicated in behavioural regulation. (AU)