Re: Drugs and gambling.
This is not that far out. Compulsive behaviours (including gambling) have a pretty simple mechanism in the dopamine pathway, which this drug acts directly on.
The researchers are NOT saying this drug will make you go out and gamble. Instead, one of the variable side effects is an increase in compulsive behaviours which are moderated by the dopamine pathway. If you took someone on this drug to the casino, they would be more likely to spend more money due to a reinforcement of some biochemical risk/reward pathway.
There is a large biological component to problem gambling (i.e. it is a psychiatric disease), which many poker players seem to be in denial about.
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