A group of South Korean scientists have developed a method to differentiate the gambling tendencies of different rats, the science ministry said Tuesday, a finding that may contribute to studies of gambling addiction in humans.
The team led by Kim Jung-hoon of Yonsei Medical University said that by observing rats they found a method to find traits and environmental factors that affect decision-making, core problems in psychiatric disorders such as pathological gambling and substance abuse, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said.
 |
(Yonhap) |
"Here, we trained rats, housed in pairs or in isolation, in a touch screen chamber to detect the association between four different light signals on the screen and accompanied reward and punishment outcomes arranged in different schedules," the researchers said in a paper.
The researchers concluded that all rats significantly changed their preferences toward more risky choices when they were exposed to and challenged with cocaine, indicating that a pre-existing trait toward risk and environmental conditions interacts to affect the quality of rat decision-making.
 |
(Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning) (Yonhap) |
The research was supported by the ministry and the findings were published in the latest edition of the journal "Scientific Reports." (Yonhap)
