Jackson Free Press

Imagine all the help that compulsive gamblers could receive with these findings. People with bipolar disorder could benefit as well. Awesome news!

Excerpt:

Researchers may have hit the jackpot by identifying the key area of the brain involved in gambling behaviors.

Using brain imaging, a new study has pinpointed specific areas of the brain that light up when people gamble or gauge risk vs. reward....

The results showed that researchers could distinguish between brain regions that responded specifically to either anticipated risk or reward. Activity in these regions also increased with the level of expected reward or perceived risk.

In addition, the study showed that while brain activation related to expected reward was immediate, the activation of the areas related to risk perception was delayed.

The regions activated were part of the brain's circuitry controlled by the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is also involved in learning and motivation.

Researchers say the results of their study are significant because the design of their gambling task ruled out possible involvement of these other functions, which may lead to better treatments for gambling addiction as well as other mental disorders that involve risk-taking behaviors, including a manic episode in someone with bipolar disorder.

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