Ferland Jacqueline-Marie N, Adams Wendy K, Murch Spencer, Wei Linda, Clark Luke, Winstanley Catharine A
Departments of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health.
Psychology, Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Behav Pharmacol. 2018 Dec;29(8):732-744. doi: 10.1097/FBP.0000000000000455.
Multiline slot machines encourage continued play through 'losses disguised as wins' (LDWs), outcomes in which the money returned is less than that wagered. Individuals with gambling problems may be susceptible to this game feature. The cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms through which LDWs act are unknown. In a novel rat operant task, animals chose between a 'certain' lever, which always delivered two sugar pellets, or an 'uncertain' lever, resulting in four sugar pellets on 50% of trials. LDWs were then introduced as a return of three sugar pellets on 30-40% of uncertain rewarded trials. For half the rats, winning outcomes were paired with audiovisual feedback (cues). In a second study, the basolateral amygdala (BLA) was inactivated during initial presentation of LDWs. While LDWs shifted most rats' choice toward the certain lever, a subgroup of LDW vulnerable rats continued to choose the uncertain option, when the reward rate diminished. This profile of LDW vulnerability was reproduced after inactivating the BLA. Persistent choice of uncertain outcomes despite lower reward rates may reflect impaired functioning within the BLA. Future work using this model may provide insight into the neurobiological mechanisms contributing to the motivational properties of LDWs and their contribution to problematic gambling.
多行老虎机通过“伪装成赢的输局”（LDWs）来鼓励玩家持续游戏，即返还的钱少于下注金额的结果。有赌博问题的个体可能易受这种游戏特征的影响。LDWs起作用的认知和神经生物学机制尚不清楚。在一项新颖的大鼠操作性任务中，动物在一个“确定”杠杆和一个“不确定”杠杆之间进行选择，“确定”杠杆总是提供两颗糖丸，“不确定”杠杆在50%的试验中会产生四颗糖丸。然后将LDWs引入，即在30%-40%的不确定奖励试验中返还三颗糖丸。对于一半的大鼠，获胜结果与视听反馈（提示）配对。在第二项研究中，在首次呈现LDWs时对基底外侧杏仁核（BLA）进行失活处理。虽然LDWs使大多数大鼠的选择转向确定杠杆，但当奖励率降低时，一组对LDWs敏感的大鼠继续选择不确定选项。在使BLA失活后，这种对LDWs敏感的特征得以重现。尽管奖励率较低仍持续选择不确定结果可能反映了BLA功能受损。使用该模型的未来研究可能会深入了解导致LDWs动机特性及其对问题赌博的影响的神经生物学机制。
