Individuals with an addiction experience craving when they are exposed to cues related to their addiction. This is called cue reactivity. For example, images of poker games can lead to craving in individuals with gambling disorder. Research has proposed that the dopaminergic reward pathway is activated in cue reactivity. The reward pathway is involved in brain responses to rewards and motivates people to act in certain ways to get the same rewards. This pathway is altered in individuals with an addiction. The insula may also play a key role in cue reactivity. Recent research has found a connection between the insula and the reward pathway in addictions. Lesions to the insula have also been associated with a reduced urge to smoke in people with nicotine dependence.
This study examined craving and brain activities in response to gambling and non-gambling cues. Gambling cues were tailored to personal game preferences (i.e., slot machines, sports, roulettes). Non-gambling cues included food cues and neutral cues of objects such as furniture and clothing. Past research has found considerable overlap in brain responses to food cues and drug cues. For example, smokers show a decrease in brain responses to food cues and an increase to smoking cues compared to non-smokers. But it is not known if reaction to food cues would be altered in gambling disorder. This study compared craving and brain responses to gambling cues, food cues and neutral cues in men with gambling disorder and healthy controls without the disorder.
