Gambling and the Brain Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

romp and the BrainWhy do gamblers bet much after they just lost a hand? Why do investors throw good money after bad? Why do concourse believe that a string of injuryes makes a come through more likely? Why do so many good deal say that they will win their money back in the next hand? Is part of the appeal of gambling its unpredictability? Or do we just look at it as a way to lend rich quick? The answer to these questions may lie in the learning of the wiz. Some studies indicate that gamblers bet more after a loss because they are induced to fix an error. Their brains are telling them theyve made a mistake and that they need to correct it (1). These studies could possibly explain other unsound acts. If you ask many people why gamble, their response is it is like a drug (5).Compulsive gambling is a behavior which may cuss on brain circuits that evolved to help animals esteem rewards important to their survival. Researchers have represent that those same circuits are used by the human brain to assess social rewards. They found that the brain systems that detect and evaluate such(prenominal) rewards broadly operate outside of conscious awareness. The study said that much of what happens in the brain goes outside of conscious awareness. There are automatic brain circuits which affect activities such as gambling (2). However, this challenges prior notions which say that people make conscious choices about their everyday decision making. If people shadow get themselves to work unconsciously, how does the brain really know what it must ease up conscious attention to? Also, how did evolution create a brain which makes such distinctions? Experiments performed on animals and humans are showing that the brain has evolved to shape itself consort to what it e... ...times.com/3)Gambling has drug-like effect on brain,USA Today Newspaper articlehttp//www.usatoday.com/news/wellness/2001-05-24-gambling.htm4)GamblingLike Food and DrugsProduces Feelings of Reward in the Brain , Scientific American http//www.sciam.com/missing.cfm5)You Bet Gambling Is Addictive , Business Week Online http//www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2001/nf20010531_176.htm6)The Good, the Bad, and the Anterior Cingulate, scientific discipline Journal, Science time http//www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5563/2193a?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Gambling&searchid=1017881463081_295&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&fdate=3/1/2002&tdate=3/31/20027)The Medial window dressing Cortex and the Rapid Processing of Monetary Gains and Losses, Science Journal, Science Magazine http//www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5563/2279