Principal Investigator: Serena M. King, Ph.D., L.P., Hamline University
Awarded $57,318 in 2009

Aim: Understand the roles that behavioral problems, genes and environment play in gambling behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood.

King, S. M., Abrams, K., & Wilkinson, T. (2010). Personality, gender, and family history in the prediction of college gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 26(3), 347-359.

Principal Investigator: Adam Goodie, PhD, University of Georgia
Awarded $172,233 in 2009

Aim: Determine if certain personality types have a direct, causal link to pathological gambling in order to inform prevention and treatment for different kinds of disordered gamblers.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
University of Minnesota Medical School
Co-Director, Impulse Control Disorders Clinic
University of Minnesota Medical Center

Principal Investigator: Marc N. Potenza, M.D., Ph.D.
Award: $402,500 in 2009

“The Yale Gambling CORE (Center Of Research Excellence)” is building upon existing collaborations and interdisciplinary of the PI and his research team, including the Women’s Health Research at Yale, the VA VISN 1 MIRECC (focusing on co-occurring disorders), Yale Child Study Center, Yale Center for Translational Neuroscience in Alcoholism, Yale Psychotherapy Development Center, and multiple training programs. Collaborations outside of Yale will include the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Problem Gambling Services, the National Council on Problem Gambling, and the National Center for Responsible Gaming. The main research component is a study that involves the disciplines of treatment development, brain imaging, molecular genetics and behavioral/neurocognitive assessment and is investigating factors associated with outcome in pathological gambling treatment.

Balodis, I. M., Grilo, C. M., Kober, H., Worhunsky, P. D., White, M. A., Stevens, M. C., & Potenza, M. N. (2014). A pilot study linking reduced fronto–striatal recruitment during reward processing to persistent bingeing following treatment for binge‐eating disorder. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(4), 376-384.

Balodis, I.M., Kober, H., Worhunsky, P.D., Stevens, M.C., Pearlson, G.D., & Potenza MN. (2012) Diminished frontostriatal activity during processing of monetary rewards and losses in pathological gambling. Biological Psychiatry 71,749-757.

Balodis, I. M., Lacadie, C. M., & Potenza, M. N. (2012). A preliminary study of the neural correlates of the intensities of self-reported gambling urges and emotions in men with pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 28(3), 493-513.

Barry, D.T., Pilver, C., Desai, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2013). Pain interference, gambling problem severity, and psychiatric disorders among a nationally representative sample of adults. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(3), 138-144.

Barry, D.T., Stefanovics, E.A., Desai, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2011). Differences in the associations between gambling problem severity and psychiatric disorders among black and white adults: Findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. American Journal on  Addictions, 20, 69-77.

Barry, D.T., Stefanovics, E.A., Desai, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2011) Gambling problem severity and psychiatric disorders among Hispanic and white Adults: Findings from a nationally representative sample. Journal of Psychiatry Research, 45, 404-411.

Berlin, H., Koran, L., Potenza, M.N., McElroy, S., Fong, T., Malhotra, S., Braun, A., Simeon, D., Pallanti, S., Chaplin, W., Hollander, E. (2013) A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of topiramate for pathological gambling. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 14,121-128.

Blanco, C., Potenza, M.N., Kim, S.W., Ibanez, A., Zaninelli, R., Saiz-Ruiz, J., & Grant, J.E. (2009). A pilot study of impulsivity and compulsivity in pathological gambling. Psychiatry Research 167,161-168.

Brewer, J.A., Potenza, M.N., & Desai, R.A. (2010). Differential associations between problem and pathological gambling and psychiatric disorders in individuals with and without alcohol abuse or dependence. CNS Spectrums 15, 33-44.

Desai, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Cavallo, D., & Potenza, M. N. (2010). Video-gaming among high school students: health correlates, gender differences, and problematic gaming. Pediatrics, peds-2009.

Franco, C. A., Maciejewski, P. K., & Potenza, M. N. (2011). Past-year recreational gambling in a nationally representative sample: Correlates of casino, non-casino, and both casino/non-casino gambling. Psychiatry Research, 188(2), 269-275.

Giddens, J. L., Stefanovics, E., Pilver, C. E., Desai, R., & Potenza, M. N. (2012). Pathological gambling severity and co-occurring psychiatric disorders in individuals with and without anxiety disorders in a nationally representative sample. Psychiatry Research, 199(1), 58-64.

Giddens, J. L., Xian, H., Scherrer, J. F., Eisen, S. A., & Potenza, M. N. (2011). Shared genetic contributions to anxiety disorders and pathological gambling in a male population. Journal of Affective Disorders, 132(3), 406-412.

Grant, J.E., Black, D.W., Stein, D.J., & Potenza, M.N. (2009). Clinical case discussion: Pathological gambling and nicotine dependence. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 3:120-127.

Grant, J.E., Odlaug, B.L., Potenza, M.N., Hollander, E., & Kim, S.W. (2010). A multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the opioid antagonist nalmefene in the treatment of pathological gambling. British Journal of Psychiatry,197, 330-331.

Kong, G., Tsai, J., Pilver, C. E., Tan, H. S., Hoff, R. A., Cavallo, D. A., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Differences in gambling problem severity and gambling and health/functioning characteristics among Asian-American and Caucasian high-school students. Psychiatry Research, 210(3), 1071-1078.

Kundu, P. V., Pilver, C. E., Desai, R. A., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Gambling-related attitudes and behaviors in adolescents having received instant (scratch) lottery tickets as gifts. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(4), 456-464.

Leeman, R. F., Hoff, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Patock-Peckham, J. A., & Potenza, M. N. (2014). Impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and part-time job status in relation to substance use and gambling in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54(4), 460-466.

Pilver, C.E., Libby, D.J., Hoff, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2013) Problem gambling severity and the incidence of Axis I psychopathology among older adults in the general population. Journal of Psychiatry Research, 47, 534-541.

Pilver, C.E., Libby, D.J., Hoff, R.A., & Potenza, M.N. (2013) Gender differences in the relationship between gambling problems and the incidence of substance-use disorders in a nationally representative population sample. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 133(1):204-211.

Pilver, C. E., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Increased incidence of cardiovascular conditions among older adults with pathological gambling features in a prospective study. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 7(6).

Potenza MN, Balodis IM, Franco CA, Bullock S, Xu J, Grant JE (2013) Neurobiological considerations in understanding behavioral treatments for pathological gambling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27, 380-392.

Potenza, M.N., Walderhaug, E., Henry, S., Gallezot, J-D., Planeta-Wilson, B., Ropchan, J., & Neumeister, A. (2013) Serotonin 1B receptor imaging in pathological gambling. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry 14, 129-138.

Potenza, M. N., Wareham, J. D., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Cavallo, D. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Desai, R. A. (2011). Correlates of at-risk/problem internet gambling in adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 50(2), 150-159.

Rahman, A. S., Pilver, C. E., Desai, R. A., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2012). The relationship between age of gambling onset and adolescent problematic gambling severity. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 46(5), 675-683.

Rahman, A. S., Xu, J., & Potenza, M. N. (2014). Hippocampal and amygdalar volumetric differences in pathological gambling: a preliminary study of the associations with the behavioral inhibition system. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(3), 738-745.

Rao, H., Mamikonyan, E., Detre, J. A., Siderowf, A. D., Stern, M. B., Potenza, M. N., & Weintraub, D. (2010). Decreased ventral striatal activity with impulse control disorders in Parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders, 25(11), 1660-1669.

Slavin, M., Pilver C.E., Hoff, R.A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Steinberg, M., Rugle, L., & Potenza, M.N. (2013). Serious physical fighting and gambling-related attitudes and behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(3), 167-178.

Yau, Y. H., Pilver, C. E., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L. J., Hoff, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2014). Relationships between problematic internet use and problem-gambling severity: findings from a high-school survey. Addictive Behaviors, 39(1), 13-21.

Yip, S. W., Desai, R. A., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Cavallo, D. A., Krishnan‐Sarin, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2011). Health/functioning characteristics, gambling behaviors, and gambling‐related motivations in adolescents stratified by gambling problem severity: Findings from a high school survey. The American Journal on Addictions, 20(6), 495-508.

Yip, S.W., Lacadie, C., Xu, J., Worhunsky, P.D., Fulbright, R.K., Constable, R.T., & Potenza, M.N. (2013). Reduced genual corpus collosal white matter integrity in pathological gambling and its relationship to alcohol abuse or dependence. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry 14, 129-138. PMC3689213

Yip, S. W., White, M. A., Grilo, C. M., & Potenza, M. N. (2011). An exploratory study of clinical measures associated with subsyndromal pathological gambling in patients with binge eating disorder. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27(2), 257-270.

Principal Investigator: Jon E. Grant, JD, MD, M.P.H.
Award: $402,500 in 2009

Emerging evidence shows remarkable similarities in signs, symptoms, and neuro-pathology among several forms of impulsive behavior, such as pathological gambling, excessive drug and alcohol use, and risk taking behaviors such as driving recklessly and sexual promiscuity. Recent clinical and preclinical studies indicate that severity of impulsivity reflects varying degrees of control over motivational neurocircuitry and may provide the key to understanding the core pathology underlying these ostensibly distinct disorders. More specifically, identifying and understanding these commonalities of impulsivity, as well as the varying degrees of impulse inhibition, may reveal the driving force underlying pathological gambling.

The overall goal of this Center is to expand upon these important initial preclinical and clinical studies by implementing a translational approach in an interdisciplinary team that uses information from young adults with a range of impulsive behaviors to examine underlying neuropsychological and cognitive mechanisms that lead to the vulnerability, development and treatment of pathological gambling. The behaviors that characterize pathological gambling (e.g., chasing losses, preoccupation with gambling, inability to stop) have been strongly linked to an inability to inhibit reward-seeking, also referred to as “impulsivity” or “disinhibition”. Developmentally, impulsive behavior that underlies pathological gambling tends to start during late adolescence or early adulthood. Recent theoretical work has suggested that impulsivity may arise as a coherent construct arising from multiple perspectives, including neuroeconomic, cognitive, and neuropsychological perspectives. Relatively little research, however, has focused on incorporating these multiple perspectives into a coherent understanding of impulsivity and pathological gambling. This Center proposes to integrate research in the fields of cognition, neuroeconomics, and computational modeling to develop and validate a susceptibility detection model of impulsivity. This model of impulsivity will allow for the early detection of susceptible youth and, with early treatment interventions, will prove that progression to pathological gambling, and perhaps other disorders of impulse control, can be prevented.

Chamberlain, S. R., Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L., & Grant, J. E. (2012). Association between tobacco smoking and cognitive functioning in young adults. The American Journal on Addictions, 21(s1), S14-S19.

Chamberlain, S. R., Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L. R., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Clinical and neurocognitive markers of suicidality in young adults. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 47(5), 586-591.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Chamberlain, S. R., & Schreiber, L. R. (2012). Neurocognitive dysfunction in strategic and non-strategic gamblers. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 38(2), 336-340.

Grant, J.E., Odlaug, B.L., Chamberlain, S.R., Keuthen, N.J., Lochner, C.,& Stein, D.J. (2012). Skin picking disorder: An under-recognized and under-treated disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry,169(11):1143-1149.

Grant, J.E., Chamberlain, S.R., Odlaug, B.L., & Schreiber, L.R.N. (2012). Gender-related clinical and neurocognitive differences in individuals seeking treatment for pathological gambling. Journal of Psychiatry Research, 46(9),1206-1211.

Grant, J. E., Chamberlain, S. R., Schreiber, L. R., & Odlaug, B. L. (2012). Neurocognitive deficits associated with shoplifting in young adults. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 53(8), 1049-1055.

Grant, J. E., Chamberlain, S. R., Schreiber, L., & Odlaug, B. L. (2012). Neuropsychological deficits associated with cannabis use in young adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 121(1), 159-162.

Grant, J. E., Chamberlain, S. R., Schreiber, L. R. N., Odlaug, B. L., & Kim, S. W. (2011). Selective decision-making deficits in at-risk gamblers. Psychiatry Research, 189(1), 115-120.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., & Donahue, C. B. (2012). Adolescent stealing treated with motivational interviewing and imaginal desensitization—Case report. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 1(4), 191-192.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Hampshire, A., Schreiber, L. R., & Chamberlain, S. R. (2013). White matter abnormalities in skin picking disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Neuropsychopharmacology, 38(5), 763-769.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., & Mooney, M. E. (2012). Telescoping phenomenon in pathological gambling: Association with gender and comorbidities. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(11), 996.

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L. R., Chamberlain, S. R., & Kim, S. W. (2013). Memantine reduces stealing behavior and impulsivity in kleptomania: a pilot study. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 28(2), 106-111.

Grant, J. E., Schreiber, L. R., & Odlaug, B. L. (2013). Phenomenology and treatment of behavioural addictions. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 58(5), 252.

Harvanko, A. M., Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L. R., & Grant, J. E. (2012). Cognitive task performance and frequency of alcohol usage in young adults. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 6(2), 106-111.

Hodgins, D. C., Stea, J. N., & Grant, J. E. (2011). Gambling disorders. The Lancet, 378(9806), 1874-1884

Annual Clinical Psychiatry, 24(4), 300-304.,>

Lochner, C., Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., Woods, D. W., Keuthen, N. J., & Stein, D. J. (2012). DSM‐5 field survey: Hair-pulling disorder (trichotillomania). Depression and Anxiety, 29(12), 1025-1031.

Odlaug, B. L., Chamberlain, S. R., Harvanko, A. M., & Grant, J. E. (2012). Age at onset in trichotillomania: clinical variables and neurocognitive performance. Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 14(4), 1343-5.

Odlaug, B. L., Chamberlain, S. R., Kim, S. W., Schreiber, L. R. N., & Grant, J. E. (2011). A neurocognitive comparison of cognitive flexibility and response inhibition in gamblers with varying degrees of clinical severity. Psychological Medicine, 41(10), 2111-2119.

Odlaug BL, Grant JE. (2012). Commentary on Durkee et al: Prevalence of pathological Internet use among adolescents in Europe: demographic and social factors. Addiction, 107(12):2223-2224.

Odlaug, B. L., Grant, J. E., & Kim, S. W. (2012). Suicide attempts in 107 adolescents and adults with kleptomania. Archives of Suicide Research, 16(4), 348-359.

Odlaug, B. L., Lust, K., Schreiber, L. R., Christenson, G., Derbyshire, K., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Skin picking disorder in university students: health correlates and gender differences. General Hospital Psychiatry, 35(2), 168-173.

Odlaug, B. L., Schreiber, L. R., & Grant, J. E. (2013). Personality dimensions and disorders in pathological gambling. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 26(1), 107-112.

Odlaug, B. L., Stinchfield, R., Golberstein, E., & Grant, J. E. (2013). The relationship of tobacco use with gambling problem severity and gambling treatment outcome. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(3), 696.

Schreiber, L. R., Grant, J. E., & Odlaug, B. L. (2012). Emotion regulation and impulsivity in young adults. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 46(5), 651-658.

Schreiber, L.R.N., Odlaug, B.L., & Grant, J.E. (2012). Recreational gamblers with and without parental addiction. Psychiatry Research,196(2-3), 290-295.

Schreiber, L.R.N., Odlaug, B.L., & Grant, J.E. (2011). Diagnosis and treatment of trichotillomania. Neuropsychiatry, 1(2): 123-132.

Schreiber, L.R.N., Odlaug, B.L., & Grant, J.E. (2011). Impulse control disorders: updated review of clinical characteristics and pharmacological management. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2, 1.

Schreiber, L.R.N., Odlaug, B.L., & Grant, J.E. (2012). Recreational gamblers with and without parental addiction. Psychiatry Research, 196(2-3), 290-295.

Schreiber, L., Odlaug, B.L., Kim, S.W., Grant, J.E. (2009). Characteristics of pathological gamblers with a gambling parent. American Journal of Addictions,18(6), 462-469.

Grant, J. E., Potenza, M. N., Weinstein, A., & Gorelick, D. A. (2010). Introduction to behavioral addictions. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36(5), 233-241.