D1 and D2 Dopamine Receptors in Gambling and Amphetamine Reinforcement

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2015-09-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

To determine if:

1. pathological gambling is similar to psychostimulant addiction as reflected by parallel roles for D1 and D2 receptors in gambling and stimulant reinforcement.

2. these parallel roles are linked with gambling pathology or if they are evident in both gamblers and controls.

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
• Collaborator: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Treatments: Amphetamine; Dextroamphetamine; Dopamine; Dopamine Agents; Dopamine Antagonists; Fluphenazine; Fluphenazine depot; Fluphenazine enanthate; Haloperidol; Haloperidol decanoate

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLERS

• otherwise healthy, non-treatment seeking, non-abstinent

• male or female

• ages 19-65

• DSM-IV PG symptom scale score > 5

• SOGS (South Oaks Gambling Screen) score > 5

• nicotine dependence acceptable

• CONTROLS

• healthy

• male or female

• ages 19-65

• DSM-IV PG symptom scale score = 0

• SOGS score = 0

• nicotine dependence acceptable

• must have played slot machine > 5 times

Exclusion Criteria:

• both Pathological Gamblers and Controls

• Axis I psychopathology aside from nicotine dependence (or PG) based on SCID

• Schizotypal or Borderline Personality Disorder based on psychiatric interview

• Family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

• English comprehension below grade 7 level.

• ADS (Alcohol Dependence Scale) > 13 (more than low dependence)

• BDI (Beck Depression Inventory) short form > 10 (more than low depression)

• DAST (Drug Abuse Screening Test) > 4 (possible drug abuse)

• Consumption of > 20/15 (men/women) standard alcoholic drinks/ week (hazardous drinking)

• Smoking > 20 cigarettes/day to help minimize withdrawal symptoms during test phase

• Any prior use of psychostimulant drugs

• Current use of medication that could interact with any of the study medications

• Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding