Universität zu Köln

Peters, J. ORCID: 0000-0002-0195-5357 (2025). A neurocomputational account of multi-line electronic gambling machines. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29 (7). pp. 669-679. Elsevier. ISSN 1364-6613

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Abstract

Multi-line electronic gambling machines (EGMs) are strongly associated with problem gambling. Dopamine (DA) plays a central role in substance-use disorders, which share clinical and behavioral features with disordered gambling. The structural design features of multi-line EGMs likely lead to the elicitation of various dopaminergic effects within their nested anticipation-outcome structure. The present account draws an analogy between EGM gambling and latent state inference accounts of conditioning, and links maladaptive gambling-related beliefs and expectancies to a process of erroneous latent state inference that may be exacerbated by EGM design features and associated dopaminergic processes. Over the course of repeated exposure to gambling, these processes may foster the emergence of maladaptive state priors, which clinically manifest as gambling-related cognitions, beliefs, and expectancies.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Peters, J. UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0195-5357 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-801069
Identification Number:	10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.009
Journal or Publication Title:	Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Volume:	29
Number:	7
Page Range:	pp. 669-679
Number of Pages:	11
Date:	July 2025
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	1364-6613
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Human Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Human Sciences > Department Psychologie
Subjects:	Psychology Life sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language gambling disorder ; slot machine ; near miss ; illusion of control ; gambling-related cognitions ; random reinforcement ; reinforcement learning English
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/80106