Biological Approach Gambling - created from Mind Map

INITIATION genetic vulnerability triggered by environmental factors. pathological gambling runs in families research found evidence of genetic transmission of gambling in men and first degree relatives more likely to suffer than distant relatives, demonstrating a strong genetic link explains why people with same environmental experiences as pathologicals don't develop addiction. suggest people more likely to become addicted due to genetic predisposition why some resist treatments & relapse easily does ignore external factors such as accessibility to gambling, free bets & alcoholic drinks. diathesis-stress model

MAINTENANCE associated with underactive pituitary adrenal response to gambling stimuli. research found pathological gamblers had no increase in cortisol levels after watching gambling videos, compared with recreational gamblers. demonstrates that they do not produce a stress response to gambling which others would find stressful. get buzz due to rise in levels of dopamine & noradrenaline that motivates them genes controlling activity of brain neurotransmitters are passed on. after winning streak, get a rise in neurotransmitter levels. study on twin pairs found dependency was influenced by genetic factors, especially for males. in females, genetic influences accounted for 47% differences between twin types and 79% for males. Suggests gender difference in dependency vulnerability but also indicating the existence of biological predispositions towards addiction.

RELAPSE research found pathological gamblers have higher boredom proneness scores boredom due to abstaining can lead to relapse more than 60% reported physical side effects of withdrawal sometimes more severe than withdrawal from drugs this indicates that changes in neurotransmitter levels arising from abstaining from gambling bring on physical withdrawal effects, supporting the biological theory.

Reductionistic of complex gambling behaviour. Though it offers possibility for effective treatment, ignores other processes e.g. irrational thought, social context. identical brain activity is also triggered when addicts are not directly involved in addictive behaviour, suggesting that psychological factors like conditioned responses are also involved. doesn't explain why some types more addictive than others e.g. people hooked on video gambling became compulsive gamblers in a year compared to 3.5 years for those betting on horse races or sports.

Biological Approach Gambling