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Impulsivity, frontal lobes and risk for addiction
Fulton Timm Crews1, Charlotte Ann Boettiger
1Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States. ftcrews@med.unc.edu
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
|May 5, 2009
Summary
Alcohol use disorders impair executive functions like behavioral control. Chronic alcohol abuse damages brain regions, increasing impulsivity, but abstinence promotes brain regrowth and may improve cognitive deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Alcohol and substance use disorders are characterized by impaired behavioral control, despite negative consequences.
- Executive functions, governed by frontal-cortical brain areas, include planning, attention, and impulse inhibition.
- Dysfunctional impulsivity, marked by deficits in attention and insensitivity to consequences, is a hallmark of addiction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the relationship between impulsivity and executive functions in the context of cortical changes during alcohol dependence and recovery.
- To examine how alcohol abuse affects brain structures responsible for behavioral control.
- To explore the potential of treatments to improve executive functions in alcoholism.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on alcohol use disorders, impulsivity, and executive functions.
- Analysis of studies using animal models of binge drinking to assess alcohol-induced brain damage.
- Examination of research on neurogenesis and brain regrowth during abstinence from alcohol.
Main Results:
- Binge drinking models show chronic alcohol consumption damages corticolimbic brain regions, leading to executive function deficits.
- Genetic factors and adolescent age increase vulnerability to alcohol-induced neurotoxicity and associated impulsivity.
- Abstinence from alcohol can trigger neurogenesis and brain regeneration, potentially aiding recovery.
Conclusions:
- Cortical degeneration due to alcohol abuse may exacerbate impulsivity, contributing to the severity of alcohol use disorders.
- Treatments like naltrexone pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy may enhance executive functions, offering a pathway for recovery.
- Understanding the interplay between impulsivity, executive functions, and cortical structure is crucial for developing effective alcoholism treatments.
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