Cognitive control in opioid dependence and methadone maintenance treatment
Journal
PLoS ONE
Journal Volume
9
Journal Issue
4
Pages
e94589
Date Issued
2014
Author(s)
Abstract
Background: Substance misuse is associated with cognitive dysfunction. We used a stop signal task to examine deficits in cognitive control in individuals with opioid dependence (OD). We examined how response inhibition and post-error slowing are compromised and whether methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), abstinence duration, and psychiatric comorbidity are related to these measures in individuals with OD. Methods: Two-hundred-and-sixty-four men with OD who were incarcerated at a detention center and abstinent for up to 2 months (n = 108) or at a correctional facility and abstinent for approximately 6 months (n = 156), 65 OD men under MMT at a psychiatric clinic, and 64 age and education matched healthy control (HC) participants were assessed. We computed the stop signal reaction time (SSRT) to index the capacity of response inhibition and post-error slowing (PES) to represent errorrelated behavioral adjustment, as in our previous work. We examined group effects with analyses of variance and covariance analyses, followed by planned comparisons. Specifically, we compared OD and HC participants to examine the effects of opioid dependence and MMT and compared OD sub-groups to examine the effects of abstinence duration and psychiatric comorbidity. Results: The SSRT was significantly prolonged in OD but not MMT individuals, as compared to HC. The extent of post-error slowing diminished in OD and MMT, as compared to HC (trend; p = 0.061), and there was no difference between the OD and MMT groups. Individuals in longer abstinence were no less impaired in these measures. Furthermore, these results remained when psychiatric comorbidities including misuse of other substances were accounted for. Conclusions: Methadone treatment appears to be associated with relatively intact cognitive control in opioid dependent individuals. MMT may facilitate public health by augmenting cognitive control and thereby mitigating risky behaviors in heroin addicts. ? 2014 Liao et al.
SDGs
Other Subjects
methadone; amphetamine; methadone; adult; alcohol abuse; antisocial personality disorder; anxiety disorder; article; cognition; cognitive defect; cohort analysis; comorbidity; comparative study; conduct disorder; controlled study; drug abuse; drug withdrawal; executive function; human; major clinical study; male; methadone treatment; mood disorder; opiate addiction; outcome assessment; parameters; post error slowing; reaction time; response inhibition; stop signal reaction time; substance abuse; task performance; tobacco dependence; treatment duration; cognition; demography; drug effects; maintenance chemotherapy; middle aged; Opioid-Related Disorders; pathophysiology; psychology; Adult; Amphetamine; Cognition; Comorbidity; Demography; Humans; Maintenance Chemotherapy; Male; Methadone; Middle Aged; Opioid-Related Disorders; Reaction Time; Task Performance and Analysis
Type
journal article