The DOI matches its Crossref record; 67 of the 67 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Gambling Near-Misses Enhance Motivation to Gamble and Recruit Win-Related Brain Circuitry
Open accessAbstract
"Near-miss" events, where unsuccessful outcomes are proximal to the jackpot, increase gambling propensity and may be associated with the addictiveness of gambling, but little is known about the neurocognitive mechanisms that underlie their potency. Using a simplified slot machine task, we measured behavioral and neural responses to gambling outcomes. Compared to "full-misses," near-misses were experienced as less pleasant, but increased desire to play. This effect was restricted to trials where the subject had personal control over arranging their gamble. Near-miss outcomes recruited striatal and insula circuitry that also responded to monetary wins; in addition, near-miss-related activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex varied as a function of personal control. Insula activity to near-misses correlated with self-report ratings as well as a questionnaire measure of gambling propensity. These data indicate that near-misses invigorate gambling through the anomalous recruitment of reward circuitry, despite the objective lack of monetary reinforcement on these trials.
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“The rewarding/motivating nature of “near misses” has been reported for gambling where they increase the desire to play (Clark et al., 2009; Daw et al., 2006; Kakade and Dayan, 2002).”
From Rethinking motor learning and savings in adaptation paradigms: model-free memory for successful actions combines with internal models (2011) · cites this paper as Clark et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“Participants in this study reported that near-misses were significantly less pleasant than full misses, but triggered their urge to play more (L. Clark, Lawrence, Astley-Jones, & Gray, 2009)”
From Cued for Risk: Evidence for an Incentive Sensitization Framework to Explain the Interplay between Stress and Anxiety, Substance Abuse, and Reward Uncertainty in Disordered Gambling Behavior (2019) · cites this paper as L. Clark, Lawrence, Astley-Jones, & Gray, 2009
In the citing paper
“Additionally, a study by Clark and colleagues found that near-misses (or almost winning) in a slot machine gambling task, recruited areas of the brain that respond to wins.”
From Cued for Risk: Evidence for an Incentive Sensitization Framework to Explain the Interplay between Stress and Anxiety, Substance Abuse, and Reward Uncertainty in Disordered Gambling Behavior (2019) · cites this paper as L. Clark, Lawrence, Astley-Jones, & Gray, 2009
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Kurt, L., & Çakıcı, M. (2026) · European Journal of Education and Counselling · doi:10.35365/ejec.26.2.02
Çakıcı, M. (2026) · Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology · doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.3.27 · Cited by 4
The algorithmic production of subjectivity: chance and control in online gambling
Ocak, D. (2026) · Subjectivity · doi:10.1057/s41286-026-00255-3
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Altıner, R., İncesu, S. E., & Kılıç, S. (2026) · Ayna Klinik Psikoloji Dergisi · doi:10.31682/ayna.1840349
Investigating Outcome Types and Betting Strategies in Roulette: A Simulation Study
King-Parker, M., & Sharman, S. (2026) · European Addiction Research · doi:10.1159/ear/acrag004
Stimulation uncertainty reveals distinct mechanisms of sensation seeking and impulsivity
Wong, E., Hauser, T. U., Chandrasekaran, A., Pietrini, P., & Wu, C. M. (2026) · Communications Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44271-026-00525-5
Cartagena, T., Rodrigues, R. A., & Duarte, M. (2026) · Anais do ... Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação/Anais do Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação · doi:10.5753/sbie.2026.28144
Cocker, P. J., & Winstanley, C. A. (2015) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-015-0065-8
Metadata
- Authors
- Clark, L., Lawrence, A. J., Astley-Jones, F., & Gray, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Clark, Luke
- Venue
- Neuron
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-02
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 481-490
- ISSN
- 0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2658737
- OpenAlex
- W1992824053
- Cited by
- 410
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 27.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Neuron (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- St George's Online Research Archive (St George's University of London) (acceptedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/D000599/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Keywords
- gambling addiction, personal control, reward systems, striatum, insula, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, gambling motivation
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Brain, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Emotions, Female, Gambling, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motivation, Nerve Net, Neural Pathways, Neuropsychological Tests, Reinforcement, Psychology, Reward, Young Adult
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