Abstract

This chapter is about what happens to the brain when someone becomes addicted to gambling. It discusses how the brain's pleasure and reward systems are activated by gambling in a very similar way that they are activated by drugs. The main neurotransmitter involved in this process is Dopamine. Dopamine has been shown to be associated with reward, and reinforcement of gambling. The chapter then discusses distorted cognitions and how the brain functions by creating systems of loops. Years of gambling reinforces the belief that gambling can ease discomfort and/or give pleasure in the short term. The latter part of the chapter describes that how as addiction develops, the brain changes as a response to “highs” and develops “cravings”, and how a physical withdrawal occurs when individuals attempt to stop gambling. Moreover, some research suggests that certain individuals may develop an addiction because of genetic predispositions, and existing flaws in the brain’s reward system. The final part of the chapter looks at the “hooks” within gambling games that makes them so attractive and how the brain responds to them.