Evolutionary Mismatch, Neural Reward Circuits, and Pathological Gambling

Evolutionary mismatch theory has been applied to disorders of self-regulation such as maladaptive eating patterns and drug abuse. Modern gambling represents a refinement of the elements of risk and chance, which draw upon the faculties of judgment and novelty-seeking. A set of neuroanatomical structures, including prefrontal-subcortical systems and associated limbic structures, have been implicated in the processing of reward and punishment, including gambling-related situations. Neurobiological systems guiding choice and behavior have evolved to maximize chances for survival under hunter-gatherer conditions, and modern gambling represents an abrupt departure from these circumstances, sometimes resulting in pathological gambling.