"Near Misses" Encourage Problem Gambling

Problem gamblers react more intensely to "near misses" than casual gamblers, possibly spurring them on to play more, according to new research published in The Journal of Neuroscience. Researchers found that the brain region that responds to rewards by delivering a dose of the chemical dopamine was especially active in these individuals. Studies have shown that pathological gambling is an addiction, similar in many ways to drug addiction. The new study suggests that the degree to which a person's brain responds to near misses may indicate the severity of addiction. read more

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