Investigating dopamine synthesis capacity in (pathological) gamblers: An explorative Positron Emission Tomography study

Completed

Conditions: gambling addiction
pathological gambling
10021563

Registration Number: NL-OMON37017

Lead Sponsor: Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen

Brief Summary: Not available

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Completed

Sex: Not specified

Target Recruitment: 48

Inclusion Criteria

- Males volunteers between 18 and 65 years of age
- Predominant right-handedness
- Gambling status:
- Gambling group: *pathological* or *problem* gamblers, as assessed by a score >= 4 on the SOGS questionnaire and the presence of 4 or more DSM-IV criteria for the diagnosis of pathological gambling (assessed using DIS-T)
- Control group: score <= 2 on SOGS questionnaire and none of DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling

Exclusion Criteria

- Current psychiatric treatment (excluding cognitive behavioural therapy)
- Major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance/alcohol abuse/dependence (except nicotine dependence) in the 6 months prior to the start of the study
- Lifetime history of other DSM-IV axis I disorders and related psychiatric treatment
- Average use of more than 4 alcoholic beverages daily.
- Self-reported inability or unease to cease smoking during the whole testing session
- Use of psychotropic medication, or of recreational drugs over a period of 1 week prior to each test session, and use of alcohol within the last 24 hours before each measurement.
- (History of) neurological treatment
- (History of) epilepsy

Study & Design

Study Type: Observational invasive

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>- Baseline dopamine synthesis capacity in the striatum measured<br /><br>with[18F]fluoro-dopa (F-DOPA) Positron Emission Tomography (PET)<br /><br><br /><br>- Behavioural performance on computerized tasks measuring reward and loss<br /><br>sensitivity </p><br>

Secondary Outcome Measures