The Brain, Dopamine & Gambling [research report]

The report "A D2 Antagonist Enhances the Rewarding and Priming Effects of a Gambling Episode in Pathological Gamblers" has become available on the web site of the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre (OPGRC).

"In Gamblers, haloperidol [a dopamine antagonist that blocks a specific dopamine receptor, the D2 receptor] significantly increased self-reported rewarding effects of gambling, post-game priming of desire to gamble, facilitation of reading speed to Gambling words, and gambling-induced elevation in blood pressure. In Controls, haloperidol augmented gambling-induced elevation in blood pressure, but had no effect on other indices. The findings provide direct experimental evidence that the D2 substrate modulates gambling reinforcement in pathological gamblers."