A new study has found that the human brain is switched on for gambling, with the feeling of almost winning enhancing the motivation to continue gambling.

The report, published by Cell Press in the science journal Neuron, shows that the experience of almost winning leads to significant levels of win-related circuitry within the brain.

Previous research has also shown that near-misses can encourage gamblers to continue playing, although this study is new in that it looks specifically at the human brain for answers on what causes some people to gamble.

"We devised a series of experiments to elicit near-miss and control phenomena in the laboratory and used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the brain mechanisms underlying those cognitive distortions," said one of the study's authors, Dr. Luke Clark of Cambridge University's Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute.

The study found that although near-misses were rated by subjects as more unpleasant than full-misses, they also increased the desire of players to continue the game.

"Gamblers often interpret near-misses as special events, which encourage them to continue to gamble. Our findings show that the brain responds to near-misses as if a win has been delivered, even though the result is technically a loss," Dr. Clark said.

The research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Responsibility in Gambling Trust, and the MRC - Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute.