West Virginia University
Project Title: Effects of Probabilistic Win-Paired Cues on Risky Choice in Rats
Human pathological gambling is a behavioral disorder with many contributing factors. Electronic gambling machines (e.g., slot machines, video poker, pachinko) may be more addictive than other forms of gambling (e.g., table games or sports betting). There are characteristics of electronic gambling machines, separate from the programmed schedules of reinforcement, that are believed to contribute to their addictive potential. These characteristics include little to no delay between consecutive plays, various sizes of winning outcomes, immediate delivery of winnings, and the presentation of different audiovisual stimulus arrangements concurrently with winning outcomes. The audiovisual stimulus arrangements, or “win-paired cues,” are thought to be a primary contributing factor in promoting increased risk-taking. The function of win-paired cues is not entirely clear; however, previous investigations in both human and non-human animal models of gambling have found that the inclusion of win-paired cues promotes increased risk-taking when compared to the same models of gambling without win-paired cues. Traditionally, the rat gambling task (rGT) has been used to examine how win-paired cues affect patterns of risky choice.
The present experiment will add further clarity to how patterns of risky choice are affected by the presentation of win-paired cues using a probability-discounting paradigm. It will also examine if previous findings using the rGT will extend into a probability-discounting paradigm. The probability-discounting paradigm evaluates choice between two response options, each associated with a different outcome. In the present study, one lever was associated with a smaller, certain payout. The other lever was associated with a larger, uncertain outcome. The payouts were one food pellet and four food pellets respectively. However, the four-pellet outcome was associated with five different, descending probabilities across an experimental session (100%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%, and 6.25%). Both payouts were accompanied by one flash of the chamber’s houselight per one delivery of a food pellet (the win-paired cue of the experiment). Experimental conditions involved the addition or removal of the win-paired cue on a portion of losing trials to examine if risky choice patterns would change in response to the receipt of the win-paired cue without a food payout. The findings of the present experiment may have implications for understanding the development and maintenance of problem gambling.
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