Ishikawa Yuzuki, Katsuragi Kentaro, Inagaki Takahiko, Ebina Kota, Mutsuda Yoshiteru, Aki Morio, Shibata Mami, Hamamoto Ayaka, Ando Tsuyoshi, Iriki Akihisa, Miyagi Takashi, Mizuta Hiroto, Takemura Ariyoshi, Murao Takuro, Takeuchi Hideaki, Kawada Ryosaku, Oishi Naoya, Takahashi Hidehiko, Murai Toshiya, Tsurumi Kosuke
Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Ando Clinic, Kyoto, Japan.
Addict Biol. 2025 Jul;30(7):e70065. doi: 10.1111/adb.70065.
Craving is an intense, strong urge to engage in addictive behaviours. Craving is supposed to be modulated by the connectivity between the amygdala and the ventral striatum (VS), a pivotal pathway for reward-seeking behaviours. However, whether and how this connectivity underlies craving for gambling remains unclear, limiting our understanding of the pathophysiology of gambling disorder (GD). To address this issue, we analysed resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) between the amygdala and VS in 51 GD patients and 45 healthy participants. Craving for gambling was assessed using the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS). Among three GACS subscales, Desire exhibited a significant correlation with rs-FC in the right amygdala-VS, while Anticipation and Relief showed no significant associations. Causal mediation analysis revealed that depressive symptoms significantly mediated the relationship between rs-FC in the right amygdala-VS and Desire. These findings suggest that the amygdala-VS connectivity elicits the intense desire for gambling through negative emotions.
渴求感是一种对成瘾行为的强烈、迫切的冲动。人们认为渴求感是由杏仁核与腹侧纹状体（VS）之间的连接所调节的，腹侧纹状体是寻求奖励行为的关键通路。然而，这种连接是否以及如何成为赌博渴求感的基础仍不清楚，这限制了我们对赌博障碍（GD）病理生理学的理解。为了解决这个问题，我们分析了51名赌博障碍患者和45名健康参与者杏仁核与腹侧纹状体之间的静息态功能连接（rs-FC）。使用赌博渴求量表（GACS）评估赌博渴求感。在GACS的三个子量表中，欲望与右侧杏仁核-腹侧纹状体的rs-FC呈显著相关，而期待和缓解则无显著关联。因果中介分析表明，抑郁症状显著介导了右侧杏仁核-腹侧纹状体的rs-FC与欲望之间的关系。这些发现表明，杏仁核-腹侧纹状体连接通过负面情绪引发对赌博的强烈欲望。
