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
. 2011 May;36(3):165-75.
doi: 10.1503/jpn.090095.

Effect of executive functioning, decision-making and self-reported impulsivity on the treatment outcome of pathologic gambling

Eva M Alvarez-Moya  1 , Cristian Ochoa, Susana Jiménez-Murcia, Maria Neus Aymamí, Mónica Gómez-Peña, Fernando Fernández-Aranda, Juanjo Santamaría, Laura Moragas, Francesca Bove, José M Menchón
Affiliations

Effect of executive functioning, decision-making and self-reported impulsivity on the treatment outcome of pathologic gambling

Eva M Alvarez-Moya et al. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2011 May.

Abstract

Background: Impairments in self-regulatory behaviour reflect a deficit in executive functioning and decision-making, as well as higher levels of self-reported impulsivity, and may be involved in the development and maintenance of addictive disorders. We sought to explore the association between self-reported impulsivity and neurocognitive measures, and their association with treatment outcome in pathologic gambling.

Methods: We assessed patients with pathologic gambling using executive functioning and decision-making tests and self-report measures of impulsivity. Patients underwent cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for pathologic gambling.

Results: We included 88 patients (8% women) in our study. High self-reported extravagance was associated with poor performance in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT)-ABCD version. High impulsiveness, low disorderliness, high exploratory excitability (trend), poor backward block span and poor IGT-EFGH scores (trend) predicted dropout. We observed no self-reported or neurocognitive predictors of relapse or number of treatment sessions attended.

Limitations: Most participants were slot-machine gamblers seeking treatment. No follow-up data and no control group were included in the study. The missing sample (i.e., individuals who were recruited and assessed in the pretreatment stage but who chose not to begin treatment) had higher extravagance scores than the final sample.

Conclusion: Neurocognitive reward sensitivity was related to self-reported overspending behaviour. Self-regulatory impairments (especially rash impulsiveness and punishment sensitivity) and executive dysfunction predicted only dropout of CBT in participants with pathologic gambling. Different neurocognitive processes and personality traits might mediate treatment response to psychological therapy of pathologic gambling according to the specific target variable assessed.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Sharpe L. A reformulated cognitive-behavioral model of problem gambling. A biopsychosocial perspective. Clin Psychol Rev. 2002;22:1–25. - PubMed
    1. Koob GF, Le Moal M. Addiction and the brain antireward system. Annu Rev Psychol. 2008;59:29–53. - PubMed
    1. Bechara A, Damasio AR, Damasio H, et al. Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex. Cognition. 1994;50:7–15. - PubMed
    1. Barkley RA. The executive functions and self-regulation: an evolutionary neuropsychological perspective. Neuropsychol Rev. 2001;11:1–29. - PubMed
    1. Bechara A, Damasio H, Tranel D, et al. Dissociation of working memory from decision making within the human prefrontal cortex. J Neurosci. 1998;18:428–37. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types