Impulsivity in Pathological Gambling

June 3, 2013 updated by: Timothy Fong MD, University of California, Los Angeles

Impulsivity in Pathological Gambling: A Cross Sectional Analysis on Tests of Impulsivity Between Pathological Gamblers and a Non-pathological Control Group.

The purpose of the this study is to compare pathological gamblers versus non-pathological gamblers using tests that measure different components of impulsivity. We aim to invite a total of 120 individuals to participate in this study.

Impulsivity has been described as the cognitive inability to delay gratification, a failure to inhibit behavioral action or acting without forethought about consequences. Impulsivity has also been seen as a personality trait characterized by risk-taking or sensation seeking behavior. Pathological gamblers demonstrate aspects of impulsivity; they act without thinking, have difficult inhibiting urges to gamble and desire immediate gratification. The goal of this project is to clarify which components of impulsivity are associated with pathological gambling. Non-treatment seeking, pathological gamblers and controls will be recruited from the community and local casinos. Each participant will be administered a battery of tests that represent different operational definitions of impulsivity.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Personality traits of impulsivity will be measured with the Barrett Impulsiveness Scale and the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised. Behavioral components of impulsivity will be tested through delay and probability discounting tasks. Finally, measures of frontotemporal functioning are also included in a neuropsychology and neurocognitive battery. Recent studies have shown that these areas of the brain function differently in pathological gamblers; thus, the following neuropsychology/neurocognitive tests have been included: Attention/Information Processing Speed (via Simple Reaction Time Task and Continuous Performance Task), Episodic Memory (via Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test), Executive/Frontal Lobe Measures (via Wechsler Memory Scale-III, Choice Reaction Time Task, Working Memory Task (N-back), Probabilistic Reversal Learning Task, and Stop-Signal Task). Between group comparisons on this battery of impulsivity tests will be made to clarify which components of impulsivity are associated with pathological gambling. Secondly, within-group analyses will be performed to correlate impulsivity to gambling severity. Lastly, an exploratory analysis of subtyping pathological gamblers by performances on tasks of impulsivity and types of gambling will be conducted.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

120

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
        • UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community Sample

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Inclusion Criteria for Pathological Gamblers:

  • 18 years or older
  • Be able to speak, read and write in English
  • Current diagnosis of pathological gambling (using DSM-IV criteria)
  • South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) score of 5 or above during screening
  • Recent gambling activity -- at least once within one week prior to enrollment.
  • Voluntarily given informed consent and signed the informed consent document.
  • Not currently seeking treatment for gambling

Inclusion Criteria For Control Participants:

  • 18 years or older
  • Be able to speak, read and write in English
  • South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) score of 5 or less during screening
  • Voluntarily given informed consent and signed the informed consent document
  • Does not meet diagnosis of pathological gambling by DSM-IV criteria
  • Not currently seeking treatment for gambling

Exclusion Criteria:

Exclusion Criteria for all participants:

  • Current treatment for pathological gambling, excluding involvement with Gamblers Anonymous
  • Ongoing medication for any psychiatric disorders, including anti-psychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics or sedative/hypnotics.
  • Dependence by DSM-IV criteria on any psychoactive substance, excluding caffeine or nicotine
  • Presence of clinically unstable medical disorders that could harm the subject if not treated immediately.
  • Presence of any neurological or psychiatric disorders (as assessed by the SCID or MINI and BDI-II) that would require immediate treatment.
  • Test positive urine toxicology for illicit drugs prior to enrollment
  • Hamilton Depression Scale score of >17

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
1
Pathological Gamblers
2
Non-Pathological Gamblers

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Barratt Impusivity Scale
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles

Collaborators

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Timothy W. Fong, M.D., UCLA Gambling Studies Program

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

March 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 20, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 20, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

December 24, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 4, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 3, 2013

Last Verified

June 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PA-00-004
  • K23DA019522 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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