• DOI:10.1901/jeab.2010.93-313
• Corpus ID: 16296497

Neurobehavioral evidence for the "Near-Miss" effect in pathological gamblers.

@article{Habib2010NeurobehavioralEF,
  title={Neurobehavioral evidence for the "Near-Miss" effect in pathological gamblers.},
  author={Reza Habib and Mark R. Dixon},
  journal={Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior},
  year={2010},
  volume={93 3},
  pages={
          313-28
        }
}

• R. Habib, M. Dixon
• Published 1 May 2010
• Psychology
• Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior

The purpose of this translational study was twofold: (1) to contrast behavioral and brain activity between pathological and nonpathological gamblers, and (2) to examine differences as a function of the outcome of the spin of a slot machine, focusing predominately on the "Near-Miss"--when two reels stop on the same symbol, and that symbol is just above or below the payoff line on the third reel. Twenty-two participants (11 nonpathological; 11 pathological) completed the study by rating the closeness of various outcomes of slot machine displays (wins, losses, and near-misses) to a win. No behavioral differences were observed between groups of participants, however, differences in brain activity were found in the left midbrain, near the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area (SN / VTA). Near-miss outcomes uniquely activated brain regions associated with wins for the pathological gamblers and regions associated with losses for the nonpathological gamblers. Thus, near-miss outcomes on slot machines may contain both functional and neurological properties of wins for pathological gamblers. Such a translational approach to the study of gambling behavior may be considered an example that gives life to B. F. Skinner's conceptualization of the physiologist of the future.