Abstract
ObjectiveHeroin abuse is associated with cognitive deficits. These might play a role in relapse after abstinence, which could be reduced by cognitive trainings. A previous study assessed effects of working memory (WM) training on executive functioning (EF) in heroin addicts undergoing methadone treatment, potentially limiting training effects. The present study assessed WM training effects in abstinent heroin addicts currently no longer receiving pharmacological treatment. MethodInpatients were randomly assigned to a WM training or active control condition and performed EF tasks before and after training. ResultsTrained participants improved their performance on the trained task. Using the control group as reference, they showed short-lived beneficial near- but no far-transfer effects to non-trained cognitive tasks. Participants with a strong baseline WM showed stronger training but smaller transfer effects than participants with a weak baseline WM. ConclusionThe combined results suggest limited cognitive transfer effects of WM training in heroin addicts irrespective of current methadone treatment status. They also suggest individual differences in training and transfer benefits dependent on baseline EF.
Highlights
Heroin is a widely abused drug across the world (Degenhardt et al, 2014), including China (Chen, Bian, Song, & Gao, 2019; Deng, Tang, Schottenfeld, Hao, & Chawarski, 2011; Hao et al, 2002), and is asso ciated with serious health and economic costs for both the individual and the society at large (Jiang, Lee, Lee, & Pickard, 2017)
working memory (WM) is linked to prefrontal cortex-mediated top-down control of more basic, lower-level processes (Lara & Wallis, 2015), including sponta neous behavioral and emotional responses (Langner, Leiberg, Hoff staedter, & Eickhoff, 2018)
Abstinent long-term heroindependent patients currently undergoing only non-pharmacological treatments participated in a WM training program
Summary
Heroin is a widely abused drug across the world (Degenhardt et al, 2014), including China (Chen, Bian, Song, & Gao, 2019; Deng, Tang, Schottenfeld, Hao, & Chawarski, 2011; Hao et al, 2002), and is asso ciated with serious health and economic costs for both the individual and the society at large (Jiang, Lee, Lee, & Pickard, 2017). One of the individual’s health costs concerns brain damage and corresponding decrements in cognitive abilities. WM capacity is associated with advanced cognitive abilities that enable the individual to deal with the demands of a complex world (Baddeley, 2010). WM is linked to prefrontal cortex-mediated top-down control of more basic, lower-level processes (Lara & Wallis, 2015), including sponta neous behavioral and emotional responses (Langner, Leiberg, Hoff staedter, & Eickhoff, 2018). The compromised executive control fits the fact that heroin abuse results in decreased prefrontal cortex volume, thickness, and connectivity (Li et al, 2014; Mwansisya et al, 2016; Qi, Fu, Qian, Niu, & Wei, 2011)
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