Pathological Gambling and Motor Impulsivity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Motor impulsivity involves difficulty stopping or canceling responses.
• This deficit may explain why pathological gamblers (PGs) struggle to inhibit gambling urges.
• Understanding this link is crucial for PGs without comorbid substance use disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively and qualitatively synthesize studies on motor impulsivity in PGs.
• To assess if PGs without substance use disorders show increased motor impulsivity compared to controls.
• To identify the role of motor impulsivity in pathological gambling.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 studies.
• Included measures: Stop Signal Task (SST), Go/No-Go task, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-Motor).
• Analyzed stop signal reaction time, commission/omission errors, Go reaction time, and BIS-Motor scores.

Main Results:

• Moderate to large effect sizes found for SST and BIS-Motor.
• Small to moderate effect sizes for Go/No-Go task measures.
• Significant heterogeneity observed in most behavioral measures, except BIS-Motor and Go/No-Go omission errors.

Conclusions:

• Motor impulsivity appears to be a key feature of pathological gambling psychopathology.
• Elevated motor impulsivity contributes to poor inhibitory control over gambling behaviors.
• PGs may also exhibit deficits in sustained attention and executive control.