Gambling Rats Reveal Nerve Cells Which May Control Risk-Taking Behaviour
The Guardian Newspaper was reporting on a study that seeks to demonstrates the neural mechanisms behind the risk behaviour such as gambling.
Conducted by Karl Deisseroth, a psychiatrist and bioengineer at Stanford University in California, the research shows “rats that pressed one lever learned that they would always get a predictable dose of sugary water”. Another lever pressed would produce a less substantial reward, in this case a small bonanza.
“Humans and rats have similar brain structures involved. And we have found that a drug known to increase risk preference in people had the same effect on rats. So every indication is that these findings are relevant to humans,” Dr. Deisseroth said.
From the Guardian:
Two-thirds of the rats habitually chose the “regular paypacket” version of reward. One third seemed to prefer to play the the freelance or “casino” lever. And just occasionally, the safe-playing rodents would take a gamble and the receptor cells linked with gambling would light up. The rats who were habitual gamblers, however, carried on taking risks.
The researchers then found that laser light pulses could fire up the “safe” system and temporarily change the behaviour of the risk-seekers. They also found that a drug called pramipexole, delivered directly to the same region of the rat brain, could turn the safe-playing rats into gamblers. Pramipexole, prescribed for Parkinson’s disease, has been linked to gambling addiction in humans.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
