Gambling and the Brain

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Gambling and the Brain

Why do gamblers bet more after they just lost a hand? Why do investors throw good money after bad? Why do people believe that a string of losses makes a win more likely? Why do so many people say that they will win their money back in the next hand? Is part of the appeal of gambling its unpredictability? Or do we just look at it as a way to "get rich quick"? The answer to these questions may lie in the science of the brain. Some studies indicate that gamblers bet more after a loss because they are induced to fix an error. Their brains are telling them they've made a mistake and that they need to correct it (1). These studies could possibly explain other risky acts. If you ask many people why gamble, their response is "it is like a drug" (5).

Compulsive gambling is a behavior which may rely on brain circuits that evolved to help animals assess rewards important to their survival. Researchers have found that those same circuits are used by the human brain to assess social rewards. They found that the brain systems that detect and evaluate such rewards generally operate outside of conscious awareness. The study said that much of what happens in the brain goes outside of conscious awareness. There are automatic brain circuits which affect activities such as gambling (2). However, this challenges prior notions which say that people make conscious choices about their everyday decision making. If people can get themselves to work unconsciously, how does the brain really know what it must pay conscious attention to? Also, how did evolution create a brain which makes such distinctions?

Experiments performed on animals and humans are showing that the brain has evolved to shape itself according to what it e...

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...times.com/

3)Gambling has drug-like effect on brain,USA Today Newspaper article

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2001-05-24-gambling.htm

4)Gambling—Like Food and Drugs—Produces Feelings of Reward in the Brain , Scientific American

http://www.sciam.com/missing.cfm

5)You Bet Gambling Is Addictive , Business Week Online

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2001/nf20010531_176.htm

6)The Good, the Bad, and the Anterior Cingulate, Science Journal, Science Magazine

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5563/2193a?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Gambling&searchid=1017881463081_295&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&fdate=3/1/2002&tdate=3/31/2002

7)The Medial Frontal Cortex and the Rapid Processing of Monetary Gains and Losses, Science Journal, Science Magazine

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5563/2279

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