Korean J Biol Psychiatry.
2009 Aug;16(3):190-197.
Gray Matter Changes in Patients with Pathological Gambling: A Preliminary Study Using Voxel-Based Morphometry Study
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. benji@snu.ac.kr
- 2Department of Neuropsychiatry, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of Psychiatry, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea.
- 4Interdisciplinary Program in Brain Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
- 5Department of Radiology, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
- 6Brain & Cognitive Science-WCU program, College of Natural Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to examine structural abnormalities of brain in patients with pathological gambling(PG) using voxel-based morphometry.
METHODS
We compared gray matter(GM) volumes between 10 patients with PG and 14 age- and IQmatched healthy controls and examined the relationship of GM volumes with clinical variables in patients with PG.
RESULTS
We found significant increase of GM volume in the superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyri, the midbrain, the middle temporal gyrus, the precuneus, and the fusiform gyrus of patients with PG. A significant decrease of GM volume was observed in the parahippocampal gyrus and the lingual gyrus of the patient group. In addition, GM volumes in some of these regions were positively associated with South Oaks Gambling Screen score and negatively with age of onset in patients with PG.
CONCLUSION
Current findings indicate that structural abnormalities in the fronto-temporal cortex, the midbrain, and the precuneus might be involved in the pathophysiology of PG, and contribute to some of the behavioral changes observed in patients with PG.
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