BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Neuropsychology of Gambling Addiction - Luke Clarke (Dept of Exper
 imental Psychology)
DTSTART:20091109T160000Z
DTEND:20091109T173000Z
UID:TALK20496@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Mandy Carter
DESCRIPTION:Gambling is a classic risky behaviour\, and despite widespread
  acceptance that 'the house always wins'\, gambling remains a popular and 
 expanding form of entertainment in the UK. It can also become dysfunctiona
 l in a small but significant minority of 'problem gamblers'. This talk wil
 l highlight some recent research looking at the brain mechanisms that\nund
 erlie gambling decisions. I will describe some neuropsychological similari
 ties between problem gamblers\, patients with alcohol dependence\, and bra
 in-injured patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. I w
 ill also describe some brain imaging data looking at how the brain respond
 s to 'near-miss' events\, which are an important factor in encouraging gam
 blers to continue to play. These findings illustrate both the fallibility 
 of decision-making mechanisms in the general population\,and also the poss
 ible routes by which gambling can become an addictive behaviour.\n\nKey re
 fs: \nClark L\, Lawrence AJ\, Astley-Jones F\, Gray N. Gambling near-misse
 s enhance motivation to gamble and recruit win-related brain circuitry. Ne
 uron 2009\, 61: 481-490. Lawrence AJ\, Luty J\, Bogdan N\,\n\nSahakian BJ\
 , Clark L. Problem gamblers share deficits in impulsive decision-making wi
 th alcohol-dependent individuals. Addiction\, 104:\n1006-1015.\n
LOCATION:Department of Experimental Psychology Seminar Room
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR