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Bidirectional causality between addiction and cognitive deficits.
Patrick R Melugin1, Suzanne O Nolan1, Cody A Siciliano1
1Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States.
International Review of Neurobiology
|March 2, 2021
Summary
Cognitive deficits are linked to substance use disorders, impacting executive function. Understanding this relationship is key for addiction treatment and recovery.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Cognitive deficits frequently co-occur with substance use disorders (SUDs).
- These deficits affect multiple cognitive domains and persist after substance cessation.
- Cognitive recovery predicts treatment adherence and prognosis in SUDs, suggesting addiction is a disease of executive dysfunction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review clinical and preclinical evidence on cognitive deficits in SUDs.
- To explore the role of the prefrontal cortex in addiction and cognitive impairment.
- To assess the interplay between pre-existing cognitive dysfunction and substance-induced changes.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical literature on psychostimulants and alcohol.
- Review of preclinical animal models of substance use and cognitive function.
- Analysis of forward and reverse translation between human and animal studies.
Main Results:
- Cognitive deficits are implicated as both a risk factor for and a consequence of SUDs.
- Prefrontal cortex dysfunction is central to these phenomena.
- Animal models show high congruency with human studies, offering causal insights.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive dysfunction plays a complex role in addiction etiology and progression.
- Animal models are valuable for investigating causality and neurobiology of addiction.
- Further research is needed to understand the interaction between pre-existing and substance-induced cognitive changes.
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