Poker, Skills and Associated Problems

Nantes University Hospital113 enrolled

Overview

The PERHAPS project aims to fill two gaps in the scientific literature: on the one hand, studying the clinical and cognitive particularities of poker-related problems, and on the other hand, studying poker skill as a combination of multiple cognitive and emotional abilities. The underlying clinical aim is to develop a cognitive remediation therapy program dedicated to pathological gamblers.

In the literature, although compulsive poker players undoubtedly share similarities with the compulsive gamblers of other gambling games, clinicians have observed significant specificities in these patients, in terms of personality profile, gaming practices and associated troubles. These specificities could influence the effectiveness of treatment and prevention strategies in many ways. However, there are very few studies focused on the specific poker-related problems, particularly compared to other practices. Furthermore, skill at poker has often been treated as a unique and general ability. This binary vision is now considered widely insufficient and most researchers recommend exploring the individual cognitive abilities at play in poker skill. To the investigators knowledge, no study has done this to date. Consequently, the PERHAPS project aims to fill two gaps in the scientific literature: on the one hand, studying the clinical and cognitive particularities of poker-related problems, and on the other hand, studying poker skill as a combination of multiple cognitive and emotional abilities. Three profiles of poker players will be studied, depending on their gambling practices and whether or not they are addicted: a control group of 30 non-poker players, a group of 30 expert unproblematic poker players, and a group of 30 pathological poker players. The three groups will be compared with one another on: * Cognitive and emotional abilities (for expert players) or deficits (for pathological gamblers) * Clinical particularities of poker-related problems Secondarily (ancillary study), pathological poker gamblers will be compared with pathological gamblers of other gambling games (pure chance games n=30 and quasi-skill games n=30). The PERHAPS project aims to improve knowledge of gambling addiction, particularly as regards poker, in order to optimise prevention and care strategies. The clinical aim is especially to construct a cognitive remediation therapy program. It also intends to discuss the legal framework applied to poker under the gambling regulation.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

113

Conditions

Pathological Gambling

Interventions

cognitive, emotional and clinical assessmentBEHAVIORAL

Cognitive and emotional assessment: Posner paradigm applied to emotional information (attention and emotional perception abilities), the modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (mental flexibility), the Hayling Sentence Completion Task (verbal inhibition), the Go - No Go test (motor inhibition) and the expressive suppression method (facial expression inhibition) Clinical assessment: gambling course and habits, level of cognitive distortions, control attribution (locus of control), social phobia, motivation for gambling, impulsivity, co-addictions, coping and gambling related-damage

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 59 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 18-59 years * good understanding of French, literate * correct level of vision and hearing * specific inclusion criteria for each group include frequency and length of poker practice, DSM-5 doagnostic criteria for gambling disorder Exclusion Criteria: * protected adults * important cognitive deficit (assessed by the MMSE) * psychotic syndrome whole life * other psychiatric disorders (mood disorders, anxiety disorders) and addictive disorders (disorders related to the use of alcoholic or other substances, excluding nicotine) that are present and not stabilized * unstable endocrine disorders * significant neurological disorders (such as head injuries (except mild), neurodegenerative diseases, unbalanced epilepsy, mental retardation, etc.) * psychoactive use (before participation) * color blindness * cardiac disorders * electronic implants

Locations (1)

CHU de Nantes

Nantes, France

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

attention and emotional perception performances

Modified Posner paradigm Performances will be compared between pathological poker players and non-poker players (to identify cognitive deficits in pathological players compared to baseline level) and between pathological poker players and expert unproblematic poker players (to identify cognitive deficits in pathological players compared to a gambler level)