Internet and Psychiatry

Preuschoff K, 't Hart BM, Einhäuser W.
Social and Neural Systems Lab, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland.
Front Neurosci. 2011;5:115. Epub 2011 Sep 30.

Our decisions are guided by the rewards we expect. These expectations are often based on incomplete knowledge and are thus subject to uncertainty. While the neurophysiology of expected rewards is well understood, less is known about the physiology of uncertainty. We hypothesize that uncertainty, or more specifically errors in judging uncertainty, are reflected in pupil dilation, a marker that has frequently been associated with decision making, but so far has remained largely elusive to quantitative models.

Gavaudan G, Magalon D, Cohen J, Lançon C, Léonetti G, Pélissier-Alicot AL.
Service de Médecine Légale, Faculté de Médecine, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France.
J Forensic Sci. 2010 Jun 23.

Pathological gambling (PG), classified in the DSM-IV among impulse control disorders, is defined as inappropriate, persistent gaming for money with serious personal, family, and social consequences. Offenses are frequently committed to obtain money for gambling. Pathological gambling, a planned and structured behavioral disorder, has often been described as a complication of dopamine agonist treatment in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Welte JW, Barnes GM, Tidwell MC, Hoffman JH.
Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
J Gambl Stud. 2010 May 25.

Two national U.S. telephone surveys of gambling were conducted, an adult survey (age 18 and over, N = 2,631) in 1999-2000 and a youth (age 14-21, N = 2,274) survey in 2005-2007. The data from these surveys were combined to examine the prevalence of any gambling, frequent gambling and problem gambling across the lifespan.

Najavits LM.
Harvard Medical School, Treatment Innovations, 28 Westbourne Road, Newton Centre, MA, USA.
J Gambl Stud. 2010 Jun 2.

This study explored the treatment preferences of 106 people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pathological gambling (PG), or both. It is the first know study of its type for this comorbidity. Sixteen different treatment types were rated, with a broad array of modalities including manualized psychotherapies, medication, self-help, alternative therapies, coaching, and self-guided treatments (use of books and computerized therapy).

Ferentzy P, Skinner W, Antze P.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Gambl Stud. 2009 Dec 22.

This paper examines changing spousal roles and their effects upon recovery in Gamblers Anonymous (GA). It is based upon a qualitative study designed to gage uniformity as well as variations in approaches to recovery in GA.

Kaasinen V, Halme J, Alho H.
TYKS:n neurologian klinikka ja Valtakunnallinen PET-keskus, Turku.
Duodecim. 2009;125(19):2075-83.

Approximately one third of problem gamblers in Finland suffer from pathological gambling. An essential factor affecting the genesis of pathological gambling is a dysfunction of the dopaminergic reward system. It may be associated with the pleasure arising from gambling along with the reward and expectance of reward.