Vulnerability Markers in Pathological Gambling

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Addictions without substances are an emergent problem giving rise to a recent and increasing request of care. Among these new addictions, pathological gambling and pathological online video gaming which are up. The purpose of this study is to identify vulnerability factors (personality traits, decision making strategies...), which are common or specific to each type of game (on line poker, casino, MMORPG, and no-gamers).

Official Title
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Marqueurs de vulnérabilité Aux Jeux Pathologiques

Conditions
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Gaming, Gambling

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: step 1: online assessment
* Behavioral: step2: biomarkers of gamblers/gamers


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: arm 1: online poker gamblers who don't play another type of gamble/game arm 2: casino gamblers who don't play another type of gamble/game arm 3: MMORPG gamers who don't play another type of gamble/game arm 4: no-gamblers/gamers subjects step 2 : only right-handled subjects (due to registration of brain activity) Exclusion Criteria: -

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: online poker gamblers<br>Recruitment by forums of online poker gamblers: an explanation of the research is sent with the dedicated link of the research. | Behavioral: step 1: online assessment<br>* Anonymous psychiatric and behavioral assessments to evaluate in particular addiction or pathological gambling/gaming and behavioral profile of gamblers/gamers. Once questionnaire completed, if the subjects want to continue to participate, they sent their email to investigators.<br>Behavioral: step2: biomarkers of gamblers/gamers<br>* For each arm, subjects were divided into 2 groups: dependant or not dependant gamblers/gamers. Investigators focused on decision-making biomarkers following the following flow-chart: psychiatric assesment and registration of brain activity during a decision-making task in conditions of uncertainty (IGT) with its version for HR-EEG validated by investigators (Giustiniani, 2015).<br>|
| Experimental: casino gamblers<br>Recruitment to the casino gates: an explanation of the research is sent with the dedicated e-link of the research and they could answer directly to the questionnaire (1st step) on sites. | Behavioral: step 1: online assessment<br>* Anonymous psychiatric and behavioral assessments to evaluate in particular addiction or pathological gambling/gaming and behavioral profile of gamblers/gamers. Once questionnaire completed, if the subjects want to continue to participate, they sent their email to investigators.<br>Behavioral: step2: biomarkers of gamblers/gamers<br>* For each arm, subjects were divided into 2 groups: dependant or not dependant gamblers/gamers. Investigators focused on decision-making biomarkers following the following flow-chart: psychiatric assesment and registration of brain activity during a decision-making task in conditions of uncertainty (IGT) with its version for HR-EEG validated by investigators (Giustiniani, 2015).<br>|
| Experimental: MMORPG gamers<br>Recruitment by forums of MMORPG (as guilds): an explanation of the research is sent with the dedicated link of the research. | Behavioral: step 1: online assessment<br>* Anonymous psychiatric and behavioral assessments to evaluate in particular addiction or pathological gambling/gaming and behavioral profile of gamblers/gamers. Once questionnaire completed, if the subjects want to continue to participate, they sent their email to investigators.<br>Behavioral: step2: biomarkers of gamblers/gamers<br>* For each arm, subjects were divided into 2 groups: dependant or not dependant gamblers/gamers. Investigators focused on decision-making biomarkers following the following flow-chart: psychiatric assesment and registration of brain activity during a decision-making task in conditions of uncertainty (IGT) with its version for HR-EEG validated by investigators (Giustiniani, 2015).<br>|
| Experimental: no gamer subjects<br>Recruitment by poster. | Behavioral: step 1: online assessment<br>* Anonymous psychiatric and behavioral assessments to evaluate in particular addiction or pathological gambling/gaming and behavioral profile of gamblers/gamers. Once questionnaire completed, if the subjects want to continue to participate, they sent their email to investigators.<br>Behavioral: step2: biomarkers of gamblers/gamers<br>* For each arm, subjects were divided into 2 groups: dependant or not dependant gamblers/gamers. Investigators focused on decision-making biomarkers following the following flow-chart: psychiatric assesment and registration of brain activity during a decision-making task in conditions of uncertainty (IGT) with its version for HR-EEG validated by investigators (Giustiniani, 2015).<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Compare the average activation differences in each arm regarding the dependance level and between the 4 arms. |  | up to 4 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Online poker, Casino, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), High Resolution Electroencephalography (HR-EEG)