Tamea Sisco
through four stages of the compulsive-gambling syndrome: winning, losing, desperation and hopelessness-a series not uncommon to other addictive behaviors.
Might the dopamine pathways in the brain be involved with pathological gambling? A recent study of Caucasian pathological gamblers found that 50.9 percent carried the A1 allele of the dopamine D2 receptor (Comings et al. 1996b). The more severe the gambling problem, the more likely it was that the individual was a carrier of the A1 allele. Finally, in a population of males with drug problems who were also pathological gamblers the incidence of the A1 allele rose to 76 percent.
Tamea Sisco is a licensed Addictionoligist specializing in the restoration of the balance of brain chemistry to combat addiction.