engleski

Neuroscientific aspects of gambling disorder among adolescents

Risky behavior associated with a gambling disorder occurs already in adolescence, thus 5 % of adolescents are problem gamblers. Poor mental and physical health, financial problems, family conflicts and deviant behavior are gambling disorder consequences. Interaction between psychosocial factors and neurodevelopmental vulnerability of the adolescent brain are the main risk etiological factors. If there is a constant participation in a gambling activity, e.g. due to peer pressure, the risk of developing problem gambling behavior is higher. However, adolescence is a critical period of vulnerability for problem gambling as the brain motivation structures are being developed, thus adolescents with the same amount of time spent in gambling develop more serious disorders than adults. Most developmental changes occur in the dopamine neuronal system, which the motivation neuronal circuit consists most of. Furthermore, the number of synapses in the prefrontal cortex increases in this period. However, there is a synaptic reduction of synapses located in the local circuits in order to save energy for distant synapses that affect multimodal processes, including motivation. The maturation of motivational circuits at the end of adolescence facilitates the motivation development for activities that lead to delayed but greater gratification. Until this prefrontal cortex maturation is complete, adolescents are more susceptible to the problem gambling development, because they find it harder to delay prompt and immediate gratifications. Since the problem gambling, for the reasons described, occurs early in adolescence, it is necessary to develop comprehensive preventive and therapeutic programs specific for this group to prevent gambling disorder.

neuroscientific aspects ; gambling disorder ; adolescents

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