This file accompanies a youtube clip which examines the role of the dopamine reward system in the development of pathological gambling and how naltraxone can be used to treat this addictive disorder. See facebook page for link 'epsychvce.com' or twitter 'psyccounting'

1. Pathological Gambling - Symptoms
• Gambling is dominating his/her
waking hours thinking
• The gambler tries to reclaim their
losses
• The gambler uses it as an escape
from other stressors in their life
• The gambler is deceptive about
their gambling habits i.e. they lie
• There are physiological signs if they
are deprived of gambling e.g.
sweating
• There is increased frequency and
or levels of gambling (increased
tolerance)
• They resort to theft, deception or
other illegal activities to fund
gambling.

2. Impulse control disorder

3. Application of Biopsychosocial framework to
understanding an addictive disorder: Gambling
1: Biological Factors: The role of the dopamine
reward system
• Dopamine is a neurotransmitter found in
the Central.N.S
• Responsible for the ‘pleasure centre in the
brain’
• To satisfy the desire for pleasure, the
person will repeat the behaviour to cause
the release of dopamine e.g. food & sex
• But dopamine is also released when
something pleasurable yet unexpected
occurs
• After the first time, the person expects the
effect, thus less dopamine is released, and
the experience is less satisfying

4. Biological Factors: The role of the dopamine reward system
• The dopamine reward system can be triggered by various environmental cues
e.g.. a ‘pop-ad’ that comes online, driving past a tabaret venue, TV ad, etc.
• The anticipation of the reward (a ‘win’) triggers the dopamine reward system
• These feelings of satisfaction that dopamine exhibits are so strong that one can
often loses one's ability to reason in order to achieve satisfaction
• The brain develops neural circuits that unconsciously assess reward because the
dopamine plays an active role in these circuits, a person will act in what they
think is in their best interest, when in fact the only interest it satisfies is the
release of dopamine.
• Probability and reason no longer are the most important factors in decision
making. The unconscious need for the release of dopamine becomes most
important.

5. Random Ratio Schedule of reinforcement
• The use of a random ratio schedule reinforcement is a key
fact of the addictive behaviour because the outcome is
based on chance, one does not know prior if he or she will
win. Therefore, if the person one wins, dopamine levels
increase. The good news it that gambling causes addiction
in only 4% of participants. Therefore, only people whose
dopamine levels are low, become addicted to gambling

6. Naltrexone
• Naltrexone blocks the uptake of dopamine a the
postsynaptic neuron by having an inhibitory (antagonistic)
effect at the synapse
• Thus decreasing subjective feelings of pleasure and the
impulsive need to satisfy the urge to get that ‘high’ from a
win.