Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010 Sep;36(5):242-7.
doi: 10.3109/00952991003721118.

Pathological gambling and substance use disorders

Justin D Wareham  1 , Marc N Potenza
Affiliations
Review

Pathological gambling and substance use disorders

Justin D Wareham et al. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2010 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Pathological gambling (CPG) has been considered as a behavioral addiction having similarities with substance use disorders (SUDs).

Objectives and methods: Current conceptualizations of addiction, as well as experimental studies of PG and SUDs, are reviewed in order to provide a perspective on tbe areas of convergence between addictive behaviors in PG and SUDs.

Results: Shared features exist in diagnostic, clinical, physiological, and behavioral domains. CONCLUSIONS AND SCIELLTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Similarities between PG and SUDs have important implicatiol1s for categorizing, assessing, preventing and treating both PO and SUDs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest: Dr. Potenza has received financial support or compensation for the following: Dr. Potenza consults for and is an advisor to Boehringer Ingelheim; has consulted for and has financial interests in Somaxon; has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, Veteran’s Administration, Mohegan Sun Casino, the National Center for Responsible Gaming and its affiliated Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders, and Forest Laboratories, Ortho-McNeil, Oy-Control/Biotie and Glaxo-SmithKline pharmaceuticals; has participated in surveys, mailings or telephone consultations related to drug addiction, impulse control disorders or other health topics; has consulted for law offices and the federal public defender’s office in issues related to impulse control disorders; provides clinical care in the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Problem Gambling Services Program; has performed grant reviews for the National Institutes of Health and other agencies; has given academic lectures in grand rounds, CME events and other clinical or scientific venues; has edited sections of journals; and has generated books or book chapters for publishers of mental health texts. Mr. Wareham has no disclosures.

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4. American Psychiatric Association; Washington, DC: 2000. Text Revision.
    1. Potenza MN. Should addictive disorders include non-substance-related conditions? Addiction. 2006;101(s1):142–151. - PubMed
    1. Brewer JA, Potenza MN. The Neurobiology and Genetics of Impulse Control Disorders: Relationships to Drug Addictions. Biochem Pharmacology. 2008;75:63–75. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Verdejo-Garcia A, Lawrence AJ, Clark L. Impulsivity as a vulnerability marker for substance-use disorders: Review of findings from high-risk research, problem gamblers and genetic association studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008;32:777–810. - PubMed
    1. Petry NM, Stinson FS, Grant BF. Co-morbidity of DSM-IV pathological gambling and other psychiatric disorders: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. J Clin Psychiatry. 2005;66:564–574. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances