A Family Study of Executive Function in Gambling Disorder

Impulsivity-characterized executive function impairments have been hypothesized to represent mechanisms underlying the symptomology associated with gambling disorder (GD). Despite this, a clear profile of executive function within GD has yet to be established. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether executive function deficits represent a vulnerability marker for the disorder. This study assessed executive function performance within a GD sample compared to a sample of familial relatives and community controls. Using a family study methodology, a broad assessment of executive function was administered to analyze performance differences and their potential characterization by impulsivity between a sample of individuals meeting criteria for GD, their first-degree familial relatives, and a community control sample. Performance differences emerged regarding the capacity to delay gratification and inhibit automatic task-irrelevant responses between the GD and control samples. Results support the presence of impulsive choice and impulsive cognitive bias as components of the GD executive functioning profile. Similar difficulties inhibiting automatic attentional shifting were observed within the first-degree relative sample. Executive functioning within GD appears to be characterized by an impulsive pattern of behaviours/decisions but impacts processes differently. Evidence suggests that individuals diagnosed with GD demonstrate a statistically different capacity to delay gratification (e.g. a propensity towards smaller, more immediate rewards as opposed to larger delayed rewards) and inhibit cognitive biases (e.g. difficulty shifting attention away from task-irrelevant stimuli). This latter difference may represent a vulnerability marker of GD as preliminary evidence was provided for similar difficulties in a first-degree relative sample. Further research must replicate these findings and assess the impact of task modality, symptom severity, and comorbidity on the observation of executive functioning impairment.