Reduced activity within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during decisions to quit supports the hypothesis that chasing involves rebalanced activity within systems supporting reward expectancy. However, these data also indicate that the reductions in signal observed within the subgenual cingulate cortex when participants decided to quit reflects the influence of negative affect on loss-chasing behavior. Reductions in % signal within the subgenual cingulate cortex during decisions to quit were associated with higher scores on a psychometric measure of state negative affect that captures elements of dysphoria (r = 0.424, p < 0.05). Activity within this area is important in the sadness and anxiety (Drevets, 2000). Problem gambling is exacerbated by mood disorders including depressive illness (Corless and Dickerson, 1989b); thus, the subgenual cingulate cortex activity may be the neural locus for this effect.
