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. 2024 Sep 4;13(3):768-778.
doi: 10.1556/2006.2024.00048. Print 2024 Oct 4.

Spatio-temporal EEG dynamics during decision-making in online poker players with problem gambling

Julie Giustiniani  1   2   3 , Magali Nicolier  1   2   3   4 , Florine Maylié  1   3   4 , Lionel Pazart  1   3   4 , Emmanuel Haffen  1   2   3   4   5 , Damien Gabriel  1   3   4
Affiliations

Spatio-temporal EEG dynamics during decision-making in online poker players with problem gambling

Julie Giustiniani et al. J Behav Addict. .

Abstract

Background and aims: Gambling activity evolves along a continuum from recreational to Gambling Disorder (GD) and a particular challenge is to identify whether there are some neurophysiological particularities already present in gamblers at an early stage. Our main goal was to determine whether, in the gamblers' population, neural responses generated during uncertain decisions were different depending on problematic gambling risk defined by the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI). We tested the following hypothesis, that the Problem Gambling group would show a different brain activity related to outcomes processing than people with low risk.

Methods: For this purpose, we established a relatively homogeneous population of Online Poker Players divided into two groups according to the CPGI (Low Risk and Problem Gambling). By means of high-density EEG, we compared the spatio-temporal dynamics generated during the completion of the Iowa Gambling Task.

Results: One specific topographic map was observed between 150-175 ms after a negative outcome for both groups, whereas it was displayed in the win condition only for the Problem Gambling group. We found that the Global Field Power of this map was negatively correlated with participants' adherence to a strategy. Source localization identified Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Temporal regions as generators of this map.

Discussion and conclusions: Reward hypersensitivity EEG responses identified in the early outcome process could constitute a potential biomarker of problematic gambling.

Keywords: Iowa Gambling Task; decision-making; high-density EEG; problem gambling.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: Emmanuel Haffen (EH): I have acted in advisory capacities, carried out clinical studies in relation to drug development; received personal research, study, or travel allowances; given presentations at meetings; and received remuneration for my input from the following pharmaceutical organizations: Janssen, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Neuraxpharm and Ethipharm. I have also held managerial positions at the FondaMental Foundation (Créteil) and the French Association of Biological Psychiatry and Neuropsychopharmacology. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Behavioral performance in the IGT. Evolution of the net score in each block for the whole group
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Top: Microstate analysis for both groups in win and loss conditions. Bottom: topography of the five different maps
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Differences in time frame of maximum GFP (A) and mean GFP (B) at the time window 150–175 ms (TW1) for the low-risk group and Problem Gambling group
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
A/Source localization of the TW1 and TW5 generators
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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