Increased Striatal Dopamine Synthesis Capacity in Gambling Addiction.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The hypothesis that dopamine plays an important role in the pathophysiology of pathological gambling is pervasive. However, there is little to no direct evidence for a categorical difference between pathological gamblers and healthy control subjects in terms of dopamine transmission in a drug-free state. Here we provide evidence for this hypothesis by comparing dopamine synthesis capacity in the dorsal and ventral parts of the striatum in 13 pathological gamblers and 15 healthy control subjects.

Methods

This was achieved using [¹⁸F]fluoro-levo-dihydroxyphenylalanine dynamic positron emission tomography scans and striatal regions of interest that were hand-drawn based on visual inspection of individual structural magnetic resonance imaging scans.

Resu

SUBMITTER: van Holst RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6698370 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature