哦，如此接近胜利。那么再试一次。

　　几乎很难理解是什么让沉溺于赌博的问题赌徒们屡败屡战。不过5月5日发布在《神经科学》上的最新研究结果表明，赌徒们的大脑的激励中枢，即多巴胺系统的一部分（这么说是因为神经元释放多巴胺的神经递质），对于“临近失败”的反映是一样的，都认为下次会赢。

　　英国剑桥大学的研究者们使用功能性磁共振图像对20名玩老虎机的赌徒进行大脑扫描，以观察他们大脑受到不同赌博强度刺激时的不同反应。扫描表明问题赌徒的大脑激励中枢在老虎机的图标还没开始启动时就开始活动了。即使没有美元刺激，他们在面对“临近失败”的体验时也会传递多巴胺。

　　研究的参与者Luke Clark 在一份准备性陈述中说，“这些研究激动人心，因为研究表明赌徒们的“临近失败”状态引发了多巴胺反应，尽管事实上没有任何实质上的奖励刺激他们。如果这些多巴胺导致了赌徒们沉溺于赌博，那么就能解释为什么问题赌徒们很难戒赌。”

　　研究者把多巴胺系统和其他上瘾行为联系起来，包括毒瘾。Clark 说，“研究结果显示了问题赌徒和吸毒者之间的联系，同时就问题赌徒的心理和药物治疗也会产生影响。”

　　译文

       Oh, so close. Just one more try.

　　It's hard to understand what keeps problem gamblers betting after a long losing streak. But a new study published May 5 in The Journal of Neuroscience suggests their brains' reward centers, part of the dopamine system （so-called because the neurons release the neurotransmitter dopamine）， react the same way to a "near miss" as they would to a win.

　　Researchers from the University of Cambridge, U.K., used functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） to scan the brains of 20 gamblers with varying degrees of gambling intensities while they played a computerized slot machine. The brain reward centers were active in problem gamblers even when the slot machine icons almost lined up but didn't. So the near miss delivered the dopamine, if not the dollars.

　　"These findings are exciting because they suggest that near-misses may elicit a dopamine response in the more severe gamblers, despite the fact that no actual reward is delivered," said study co-author Luke Clark in a prepared statement. "If these bursts of dopamine are driving addictive behavior, this may help to explain why problem gamblers find it so difficult to quit."Studies have linked the dopamine system with other forms of addiction, including drug abuse. "The results highlight some of the links between problem gambling and drug addiction, and have implications for both psychological and drug treatment for problem gamblers," Clark said.