Neuropsicologia

DANIEL FUENTES a1 c1 , HERMANO TAVARES a2 , RINALDO ARTES a3 and CLARICE GORENSTEIN a4
a1 Psychology & Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital, Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
a2 Gambling Outpatient Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital, Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
a3 Ibmec-São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
a4 Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Abstract

Pathological Gambling is an impulse control disorder. Impulsivity has been investigated separately by neuropsychological tests and self-report scales. Although some studies have tried to correlate these approaches, their interaction has not been sufficiently explored among pathological gamblers (PG). In this study, we have compared 214 PG (162 with comorbidity and 52 with no comorbidity) to 82 healthy volunteers regarding the reaction time and number of errors at Go/No-go tasks, and scores on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). PG have committed more errors at the Go/No-go tasks and presented higher scores on the self-report scale. The neuropsychological tests and BIS composed a multinomial logistic model that discriminated PG from non-gamblers better than models having one or another type of measure. Impulsivity seems to be a multi-dimensional phenomenon, and PG a heterogeneous population in which different types of impulsivity are present. (JINS, 2006, 12, 907–912.)


(Received November 4 2005)
(Revised June 3 2006)
(Accepted June 5 2006)


Key Words: Pathological gambling; Impulsivity; Attention; Personality inventory; Executive functions; Neuropsychology