Nowadays the gambling addiction is considered a serious behavior disorder. Its essential characteristic is the repetitive and persistent inclination of the individual to participate in gambling activities.
All of the addicts have started gambling with the goal to earn a lot of money without effort and to earn their dream lifestyle.
In other words, they wanted to get a more expensive car than the boss owns, they wanted to afford a villa and vacations that would otherwise require to work for years. The Casino exerts an irresistible attraction.
It seems that most affected by the gambling addiction are men, while women represent only 2-3% of all the gambling addicts. This disorder usually develops in early adolescence in men and only later in women.
The anti-alcohol drug prevents the body from “enjoying” the effect of dopamine
Studies have shown that those who follow this treatment gamble less.
The early studies for treating the gambling addiction were based on medication that is used for the alcohol dependence. Researchers have assumed that the gambling leads to the secretion of the same substances, like it happens with alcohol. The first results are encouraging. The scientists from Furman University in the USA are the best on this research. The first study was made on the slot machines gambling addicts.
Half of the volunteers received placebo pills and the other half received medication that treats alcohol dependence. The alcoholics who take these drugs drink less and leave the bars early. The anti-alcohol drug has the role to block the receptors that detect dopamine, a neurotransmitter that gives the feeling of euphoria. In essence, those who take this medicine no longer enjoy that kind of addictive behavior as a normal person does. It was observed that the Casino gamblers who were under this treatment have bet half of the amount compared to the other volunteers. Researchers say that although the effect is not astonishing it’s still very important.
Dependence Prevents The Individual To Reason Clearly
The scientists will continue their studies on other casino specific games. At the same time the researchers from the University of Nebraska are studying the betting addiction. The studies here are based on the gambling addiction treatment with the anti-alcoholism drugs. The difference is that they are using drugs that act differently than those of the researchers at the Furman University. The studies here have shown that the treatment used on the alcoholics has the power to cure the self control problems such as the excessive eating behavior caused by stress.
The experts say that the condition is that these volunteers want to quit the gambling but they are not capable to do so. The volunteers will receive anti-alcoholism pills three times a day for eight weeks. During this period their willingness to bet will be assessed. The selected volunteers are persons that make their schedule according to casino time and how long they play. The researchers will see if the volunteers bet less, if they think of gambling all day long and if the medication has any undesirable side effect. Both studies want to see if those that suffer from the gambling addiction can be cured with these pills or not. The skeptics say that the drugs without the help of a psychologist can not have a great effect. The same is true for those who want to escape the compulsive drinking, say those that oppose the drug therapy.
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