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SUMMARY:Gambling and the Brain - Dr Luke Clark\, Department of Experimenta
 l Psychology.
DTSTART:20090319T153000Z
DTEND:20090319T160000Z
UID:TALK16495@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Hannah Critchlow
DESCRIPTION:Gambling is a classic risky behaviour where a wager is placed 
 on the uncertain prospect of larger monetary gain. Despite widespread acce
 ptance that ‘the house always wins’\, gambling remains a popular and e
 xpanding form of entertainment in the UK\, with approximately 70% of the p
 opulation gambling at least annually. Gambling can also become dysfunction
 al in a small but significant minority of ‘problem gamblers’. This tal
 k will highlight some recent research from our lab looking at the brain me
 chanisms that underlie gambling decisions. I will describe some neuropsych
 ological similarities between problem gamblers\, and brain-injured patient
 s with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex\, on tests of risky de
 cision-making. I will also describe some brain imaging data from healthy\,
  non-gambling volunteers\, looking at how the brain responds to ‘near-mi
 ss’ events\, which are an important factor in encouraging gamblers to co
 ntinue to play. These findings illustrate both the fallibility of decision
 -making mechanisms in the general population\, and also the possible route
 s by which gambling can become an addictive behaviour.
LOCATION:William Harvey Lecture Theatre\, School of Clinical Medicine\, Ad
 denbrooke's Hospital.
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