BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The primary aim of the present review was to summarize the findings of genetic studies conducted on problem and pathological gambling. METHOD: Literature searches were conducted using PubMed, Medline and the HuGE Navigator databases using the keywords 'gambling' and 'genetic*'. RESULTS: The literature searches identified 21 empirical studies that had analyzed data from eight independent samples. Empirical research utilizing twin data accounted for eight of the studies, while gene association data were presented in 13 studies (including one genome wide-association study [GWAS] study). Twin studies emphasized the significant role of genetic and individual environmental factors in problem and pathological gambling. Gene association studies primarily reported the involvement of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems. DISCUSSION: Despite the relatively low number of genetic studies, the data clearly indicated the genetic vulnerability of problem and pathological gambling. Studies to date have mainly investigated and verified the role of factors reported to be important in other types of addiction, and it is suggested that pathological gambling should be included as a subtype of 'Reward Deficiency Syndrome' (RDS). It is concluded that future research should attempt to identify possible gambling specific susceptibility factors.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The primary aim of the present review was to summarize the findings of genetic studies conducted on problem and pathological gambling. METHOD: Literature searches were conducted using PubMed, Medline and the HuGE Navigator databases using the keywords 'gambling' and 'genetic*'. RESULTS: The literature searches identified 21 empirical studies that had analyzed data from eight independent samples. Empirical research utilizing twin data accounted for eight of the studies, while gene association data were presented in 13 studies (including one genome wide-association study [GWAS] study). Twin studies emphasized the significant role of genetic and individual environmental factors in problem and pathological gambling. Gene association studies primarily reported the involvement of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems. DISCUSSION: Despite the relatively low number of genetic studies, the data clearly indicated the genetic vulnerability of problem and pathological gambling. Studies to date have mainly investigated and verified the role of factors reported to be important in other types of addiction, and it is suggested that pathological gambling should be included as a subtype of 'Reward Deficiency Syndrome' (RDS). It is concluded that future research should attempt to identify possible gambling specific susceptibility factors.
Authors: Eszter Kotyuk; Judit Farkas; Anna Magi; Andrea Eisinger; Orsolya Király; Andrea Vereczkei; Csaba Barta; Mark D Griffiths; Gyöngyi Kökönyei; Anna Székely; Mária Sasvári-Székely; Zsolt Demetrovics Journal: Int J Methods Psychiatr Res Date: 2018-11-06 Impact factor: 4.035
Authors: Kenneth Blum; B W Downs; Kristina Dushaj; Mona Li; Eric R Braverman; Lyle Fried; Roger Waite; Zsolt Demotrovics; Rajendra D Badgaiyan Journal: Precis Med (Bangalore) Date: 2016-08-01
Authors: Kenneth Blum; Edward J Modestino; Rajendra D Badgaiyan; David Baron; Panayotis K Thanos; Igor Elman; David Siwicki; Marcelo Febo; Mark S Gold Journal: EC Psychol Psychiatr Date: 2018-07-30
Authors: Kenneth Blum; Benjamin Thompson; Zsolt Demotrovics; John Femino; John Giordano; Marlene Oscar-Berman; Scott Teitelbaum; David E Smith; A Kennison Roy; Gozde Agan; James Fratantonio; Rajendra D Badgaiyan; Mark S Gold Journal: J Reward Defic Syndr Date: 2015