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Schmid F, Henry A, Benzerouk F, Barrière S, Gondrexon J, Kaladjian A, Gierski F. Patterns of executive functions and theory of mind in adults with a family history of alcohol use disorder: Combined group and single-case analyses. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 48:362-374. [PMID: 38243915 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impairments in executive function and social cognition are highly prevalent in individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Some studies show that similar difficulties are displayed by individuals with a positive family history of AUD (FH+) compared with individuals with a negative family history (FH-). Yet, no studies have jointly investigated cognitive and affective theory of mind at the behavioral level. Moreover, some studies show preserved executive and socioemotional functioning in FH+ participants. One possible explanation for these divergent results is that FH+ individuals are cognitively heterogeneous. In this study, we examined the frequency and co-occurrence of difficulties in executive function and social cognition among FH+ individuals at the individual level. METHODS Sixty FH+ and 60 FH- participants matched on age, sex, and education level were included. They completed tasks assessing executive functions (Stroop, Trail Making Test) and affective and cognitive theory of mind (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition). They also completed self-report questionnaires measuring impulsivity, alexithymia, and empathy. Single-case analyses assessed the proportion of FH+ participants with difficulties in executive function and/or theory of mind. RESULTS FH+ individuals exhibited difficulties in response inhibition and made more errors during theory of mind processing, indicating an absence of mental state representation, compared with FH- individuals. In the FH+ sample, 53.33% had executive function and/or theory of mind difficulties. Those with lower theory of mind scores reported higher alexithymia and lower empathy on self-report measures. CONCLUSIONS FH+ individuals display heterogeneous executive function and theory of mind abilities. Given that they mostly occur independently of one another, executive function and theory of mind difficulties may be distinct vulnerability markers in AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Schmid
- Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S - EA 6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
| | - A Henry
- Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S - EA 6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
- Psychiatry Department, Marne Public Mental Health Institute & Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
| | - F Benzerouk
- Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S - EA 6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
- Psychiatry Department, Marne Public Mental Health Institute & Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
- INSERM U1247, Research Group on Alcohol and Dependences, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - S Barrière
- Psychiatry Department, Marne Public Mental Health Institute & Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
| | - J Gondrexon
- Psychiatry Department, Marne Public Mental Health Institute & Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
| | - A Kaladjian
- Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S - EA 6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
- Psychiatry Department, Marne Public Mental Health Institute & Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
| | - F Gierski
- Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S - EA 6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
- Psychiatry Department, Marne Public Mental Health Institute & Reims University Hospital, Reims, France
- INSERM U1247, Research Group on Alcohol and Dependences, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
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Knopp M, Burghardt J, Oppenauer C, Meyer B, Moritz S, Sprung M. Affective and cognitive Theory of Mind in patients with alcohol use disorder: Associations with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization. JOURNAL OF SUBSTANCE USE AND ADDICTION TREATMENT 2024; 157:209227. [PMID: 37992810 DOI: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to ascribe thoughts (cognitive ToM) and feelings (affective ToM) to others. Ample evidence exists for impairments of affective and cognitive ToM in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD); however, evidence regarding changes of these impairments during AUD treatment and their possible relationship to comorbid symptoms is ambiguous. The current study analyzed changes in ToM during treatment and tested associations with comorbid symptoms of depression, anxiety, somatization, and social functioning. METHODS We analyzed data from 175 individuals with AUD. The study assessed ToM and comorbid symptoms of depression, anxiety, somatization, and social functioning at the time of admission and at the time of discharge from an approximately 60 days long abstinence-oriented inpatient treatment. We assessed affective and cognitive ToM using the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition, a measure with high ecological validity. RESULTS All symptoms, total and cognitive ToM improved following treatment; however, affective ToM did not improve. Moreover, cognitive ToM at the beginning of treatment was associated with improved symptoms of depression and somatization, while affective ToM was not. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows improvements in total and cognitive ToM as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, somatization, and social functioning following long-term treatment. Furthermore, cognitive ToM was related to improvements in comorbid symptoms. This finding suggests that ToM may be an important treatment target in patients with AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Knopp
- Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Psychology, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Psychology, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802 München, Germany.
| | - Juliane Burghardt
- Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Psychology, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria
| | - Claudia Oppenauer
- Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Psychology, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria
| | - Bernhard Meyer
- Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Psychology, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria
| | - Steffen Moritz
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Manuel Sprung
- Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Psychology, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Psychology, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802 München, Germany; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; Psychiatric Rehabilitation Clinic Gars am Kamp, Psychosomatisches Zentrum Waldviertel, Kremserstraße 656, 3571 Gars am Kamp, Austria
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3
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Gasparyan A, Maldonado Sanchez D, Navarrete F, Sion A, Navarro D, García-Gutiérrez MS, Rubio Valladolid G, Jurado Barba R, Manzanares J. Cognitive Alterations in Addictive Disorders: A Translational Approach. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1796. [PMID: 37509436 PMCID: PMC10376598 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11071796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The cognitive decline in people with substance use disorders is well known and can be found during both the dependence and drug abstinence phases. At the clinical level, cognitive decline impairs the response to addiction treatment and increases dropout rates. It can be irreversible, even after the end of drug abuse consumption. Improving our understanding of the molecular and cellular alterations associated with cognitive decline could be essential to developing specific therapeutic strategies for its treatment. Developing animal models to simulate drug abuse-induced learning and memory alterations is critical to continue exploring this clinical situation. The main aim of this review is to summarize the most recent evidence on cognitive impairment and the associated biological markers in patients addicted to some of the most consumed drugs of abuse and in animal models simulating this clinical situation. The available information suggests the need to develop more studies to further explore the molecular alterations associated with cognitive impairment, with the ultimate goal of developing new potential therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ani Gasparyan
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Avda de Ramón y Cajal s/n, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
- Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientada a Resultados en Salud (RICORS), Red de Investigación en Atención Primaria de Adicciones (RIAPAd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, MICINN and FEDER, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante (ISABIAL), 03010 Alicante, Spain
| | | | - Francisco Navarrete
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Avda de Ramón y Cajal s/n, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
- Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientada a Resultados en Salud (RICORS), Red de Investigación en Atención Primaria de Adicciones (RIAPAd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, MICINN and FEDER, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante (ISABIAL), 03010 Alicante, Spain
| | - Ana Sion
- Instituto de Investigación i+12, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, 28041 Madrid, Spain
- Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniela Navarro
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Avda de Ramón y Cajal s/n, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
- Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientada a Resultados en Salud (RICORS), Red de Investigación en Atención Primaria de Adicciones (RIAPAd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, MICINN and FEDER, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante (ISABIAL), 03010 Alicante, Spain
| | - María Salud García-Gutiérrez
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Avda de Ramón y Cajal s/n, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
- Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientada a Resultados en Salud (RICORS), Red de Investigación en Atención Primaria de Adicciones (RIAPAd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, MICINN and FEDER, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante (ISABIAL), 03010 Alicante, Spain
| | - Gabriel Rubio Valladolid
- Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientada a Resultados en Salud (RICORS), Red de Investigación en Atención Primaria de Adicciones (RIAPAd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, MICINN and FEDER, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación i+12, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, 28041 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Rosa Jurado Barba
- Instituto de Investigación i+12, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, 28041 Madrid, Spain
- Faculty of Health, Universidad Camilo José Cela, 28001 Madrid, Spain
| | - Jorge Manzanares
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, Avda de Ramón y Cajal s/n, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
- Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientada a Resultados en Salud (RICORS), Red de Investigación en Atención Primaria de Adicciones (RIAPAd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, MICINN and FEDER, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante (ISABIAL), 03010 Alicante, Spain
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Jo Nixon S, Garcia CC, Lewis B. WOMEN'S USE OF ALCOHOL: NEUROBIOBEHAVIORAL CONCOMITANTS AND CONSEQUENCES. Front Neuroendocrinol 2023:101079. [PMID: 37269931 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In this narrative review, we draw from historical and contemporary literature to explore the impact of alcohol consumption on brain and behavior among women. We examine three domains: 1) the impact of alcohol use disorder (AUD) on neurobiobehavioral outcomes, 2) its impact on social cognition/emotion processing, and 3) alcohol's acute effects in older women. There is compelling evidence of alcohol-related compromise in neuropsychological function, neural activation, and brain structure. Investigations of social cognition and alcohol effects in older women represent emerging areas of study. Initial analyses suggest that women with AUD show significant deficits in emotion processing, a finding also observed in older women who have consumed a moderate dose of alcohol. Critically, despite the long-recognized need for programmatic interrogation of alcohol's effect in women, studies with sufficient numbers of women for meaningful analysis represent a small proportion of the literature, constraining interpretation and generalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Jo Nixon
- University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, Gainesville, FL; University of Florida, Department of Psychology, Gainesville, FL; University of Florida, Department of Neuroscience, Gainesville; University of Florida, Center for Addiction Research & Education, Gainesville, FL.
| | - Christian C Garcia
- University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, Gainesville, FL; University of Florida, Center for Addiction Research & Education, Gainesville, FL
| | - Ben Lewis
- University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, Gainesville, FL; University of Florida, Department of Psychology, Gainesville, FL; University of Florida, Department of Neuroscience, Gainesville; University of Florida, Center for Addiction Research & Education, Gainesville, FL
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5
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Schmid F, Moreau F, Benzerouk F, Raucher-Chéné D, Kaladjian A, Gierski F, Henry A. Faux Pas Recognition and Executive Processes in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder: Toward an Investigation of Interindividual Heterogeneity. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2021; 37:608-620. [PMID: 34530445 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acab072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Impairment of executive functions (EF) has been documented for decades in patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD), while more recent studies have also reported impaired theory of mind. Both have been associated with negative outcomes, particularly a high risk of relapse. However, the interrelatedness of EF and theory of mind impairments remains subject to debate. METHOD About 19 AUD outpatients and 20 healthy controls (HC) were asked to complete measures of motor inhibition, mental flexibility, and updating to assess EF, and the faux pas test to assess theory of mind. RESULTS As expected, patients' mean performances on EF and faux pas measures were poorer than those of HC. Correlational analyses revealed that executive processes were differentially related to faux pas subscores. Additional single-case analyses corroborated the strong association between EF and faux pas interpretation, as patients with AUD mostly had congruent performances (i.e., both EF and faux pas impaired or both EF and faux pas preserved). CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the interrelatedness of EF and faux pas performances in AUD, but also emphasizes the incomplete overlap of the cognitive processes involved in these tasks, with heterogeneous patterns of association. Based on these findings, tailored cognitive rehabilitation programs that simultaneously target EF and faux pas recognition could be developed to favor patients' social inclusion and reduce the risk of relapse. Results also argue in favor of systematic screening for EF and theory of mind impairments among AUD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franca Schmid
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S), Reims, France
| | - Franklin Moreau
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S), Reims, France
| | - Farid Benzerouk
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S), Reims, France.,Psychiatry Department, Reims University Hospital, Marne Mental Health Institute, Reims, France
| | - Delphine Raucher-Chéné
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S), Reims, France.,Psychiatry Department, Reims University Hospital, Marne Mental Health Institute, Reims, France.,Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Arthur Kaladjian
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S), Reims, France.,Psychiatry Department, Reims University Hospital, Marne Mental Health Institute, Reims, France
| | - Fabien Gierski
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S), Reims, France.,Psychiatry Department, Reims University Hospital, Marne Mental Health Institute, Reims, France.,Research Group on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (GRAP), INSERM-University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - Audrey Henry
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Laboratoire Cognition, Santé, Société (C2S), Reims, France.,Psychiatry Department, Reims University Hospital, Marne Mental Health Institute, Reims, France
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6
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Higher-Order Language Dysfunctions in Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10184199. [PMID: 34575309 PMCID: PMC8471652 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10184199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) have difficulties with certain aspects of higher-order language functions (HOLF) but there is no data on a wide range of these functions in this group. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare different aspects of HOLF in patients with AUD and healthy controls (HC). A total of 31 patients with AUD and 44 HC took part in the study. We assessed HOLF with the Right Hemisphere Language Battery (RHLB) and measured control variables: depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) as well as the speed of processing and executive functions with the Color Trails Test (CTT). Patients with AUD had lower results on nine RHLB tests. Moreover, AUD patients had higher scores on PHQ and longer reaction times on CTT. The differences in most RHLB results remained significant after co-varying the control variables. Patients with AUD have difficulties with making inferences from the text, understanding the meaning of individual words, metaphorical content, and prosody, which may impede the comprehension and production of discourse in which linguistic elements must be integrated with non-verbal cues and contextual information. These disturbances may impact various spheres of everyday life and negatively influence social, private, and professional functioning.
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7
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Gautier M, Pabst A, Maurage P. Social decision making in severe alcohol use disorder: Scoping review and experimental perspectives. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2021; 45:1548-1559. [PMID: 34342010 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) demonstrate multifaceted impairments in social cognition abilities, including emotional decoding or Theory of Mind. Such impairments are associated with real-life interpersonal difficulties, which in turn could contribute to the persistence of SAUD. However, little is known regarding how patients with SAUD make decisions in a social context and this literature has not been comprehensively reviewed. OBJECTIVES The main aim of this paper was to conduct the first review specifically focusing on social decision-making abilities in SAUD. Following PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, we describe existing knowledge regarding the difficulties experienced by patients with SAUD during social interactions. Our second objective was to propose perspectives for future research, based on the shortcomings identified in the available literature. DESIGN We searched three online databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus) and identified 14 papers using behavioral tasks to assess social decision making in patients with SAUD. RESULTS Included studies assessed social decision making through three paradigms: (1) economic games (four papers), (2) moral dilemmas (four papers), and (3) interpersonal problem-solving (six papers). Results indicated that patients with SAUD behave differently from controls in all three paradigms. CONCLUSIONS Previous studies suggested large-scale social decision-making impairments or biases in SAUD. However, in light of the limited number of studies available and of the restricted set of processes measured, we call for the extension of this field through more ecologically relevant and model-based paradigms in order to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mado Gautier
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Arthur Pabst
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Pierre Maurage
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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8
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Agrawal A, McCutcheon VV. Commentary on Hartwell et al. (2020): Alcohol use disorder treatment response-where is the variability? Addiction 2020; 115:1438-1439. [PMID: 32343448 DOI: 10.1111/add.15085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Arpana Agrawal
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Vivia V McCutcheon
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
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Lewis B, Garcia CC, Bohan R, Nixon SJ. Impact of polysubstance use on social and non-affective cognitive performance among treatment-seeking individuals with alcohol use disorders. Addict Behav 2020; 106:106359. [PMID: 32109774 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) display deficits across a range of cognitive processes. Decrements in social cognition may be particularly important for interpersonal functioning and post-treatment adaptation. Although social cognitive deficits are associated with chronic use of numerous substances, the role of polysubstance use in AUD-associated deficits remains largely unaddressed. METHODS Community volunteers (n = 49; 22 men) and inpatient treatment-seekers with AUD were administered neurocognitive tasks indexing emotion processing and non-affective cognitive functioning. Tasks included an emotion discrimination task, a working memory task with affective stimuli, a general face processing (control) task, two measures of executive function, and two measures of visual spatial function. AUD subgroups included individuals with no recent (6-month) polysubstance use (AUD-Only; n = 22; 15 men), and those with at least weekly use (Poly-SU; n = 22; 18 men). RESULTS Poly-SU individuals evinced disadvantaged performance relative to other groups on the emotion discrimination task [ps ≤ 0.001], affective working memory task [ps ≤ 0.050], and two executive function measures [ps ≤ 0.051]. No differences were observed for visual spatial functioning [ps ≥ 0.498] or general face processing [ps ≥ 0.190]. No performance differences between AUD-Only and community volunteers were noted. CONCLUSIONS Results extend the emerging literature exploring emotion processing in AUD and add to the established literature regarding cognitive deficits in this population. The data suggest that among individuals with AUD, those with polysubstance use may be particularly vulnerable to deficits in decoding emotional face content. The current work highlights the need to incorporate more nuanced and careful considerations of polysubstance use in the design and analysis for future investigations of alcohol-associated deficits in emotion processing.
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10
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Zhang Z, He W, Li Y, Zhang M, Luo W. Facilitation of Crossmodal Integration During Emotional Prediction in Methamphetamine Dependents. Front Neural Circuits 2020; 13:80. [PMID: 32038178 PMCID: PMC6989411 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2019.00080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Methamphetamine (meth) can greatly damage the prefrontal cortex of the brain and trigger dysfunction of the cognitive control loop, which triggers not only drug dependence but also emotional disorders. The imbalance between the cognitive and emotional systems will lead to crossmodal emotional deficits. Until now, the negative impact of meth dependence on crossmodal emotional processing has not received attention. Therefore, the present study firstly examined the differences in crossmodal emotional processing between healthy controls and meth dependents (MADs) and then investigated the role of visual- or auditory-leading cues in the promotion of crossmodal emotional processing. Experiment 1 found that MADs made a visual-auditory integration disorder for fearful emotion, which may be related to the defects in information transmission between the auditory and auditory cortex. Experiment 2 found that MADs had a crossmodal disorder pertaining to fear under visual-leading cues, but the fearful sound improved the detection of facial emotions for MADs. Experiment 3 reconfirmed that, for MADs, A-leading cues could induce crossmodal integration immediately more easily than V-leading ones. These findings provided sufficient quantitative indicators and evidences that meth dependence was associated with crossmodal integration disorders, which in turn was associated with auditory-leading cues that enhanced the recognition ability of MADs for complex emotions (all results are available at: https://osf.io/x6rv5/). These results provided a better understanding for individuals using drugs in order to enhance the cognition for the complex crossmodal emotional integration.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
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11
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Lewis B, Price JL, Garcia CC, Nixon SJ. Emotional Face Processing among Treatment-Seeking Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorders: Investigating Sex Differences and Relationships with Interpersonal Functioning. Alcohol Alcohol 2020; 54:361-369. [PMID: 30796771 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agz010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals in treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) display deficits across a broad range of cognitive processes. Disruptions in affective processing are understudied, but may be particularly important for interpersonal functioning and post-treatment adaptation. In particular, the role of sex in AUD-associated emotion processing deficits remains largely unaddressed and was a focus of the current investigation. METHODS Fifty-six treatment seekers with AUD and 54 healthy community controls (N = 110) were administered an emotional face discrimination task. Non-affective tasks included a sex-discrimination task and two brief measures of executive functioning. Two measures of interpersonal function were included. RESULTS Emotion processing deficits were evident among women with AUD relative to other groups. This sex-contingent relationship was not observed in measures of executive function, sex-discrimination or interpersonal problems, although individuals with AUD performed more poorly on these measures. CONCLUSIONS Results were consistent with extant literatures examining cognitive, affective and interpersonal functioning among individuals with AUD, and provided novel evidence of vulnerability to alcohol-associated deficits in emotion processing among women. While similar sex-contingent effects were not apparent among other measures, results support modest interrelationships, specifically including the import of emotion processing to interpersonal functioning in AUD. These data offer guidance for further systematic investigation and highlight important considerations for future relapse-prevention and recovery-facilitation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Lewis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Center for Addiction Research & Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Julianne L Price
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Center for Addiction Research & Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Christian C Garcia
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Center for Addiction Research & Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Sara Jo Nixon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Center for Addiction Research & Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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Nandrino JL, El Haj M. The grey future: Overgenerality of emotional future thinking in alcohol-use disorders. Drug Alcohol Depend 2019; 205:107659. [PMID: 31704381 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While previous research has highlighted the overgenerality of future thinking in alcohol-use disorders (AUD), the emotional characteristics of future thinking were not taken into account. We therefore evaluated the ability to retrieve episodic (i.e., events that happened at a particular place and time and lasted for a day or less) emotional future events in AUD. METHODS We invited 36 participants with AUD and 40 control participants to imagine positive, negative and neutral future scenarios and analyzed these scenarios regarding their episodic characteristics (i.e., the ability of participants to imagine future events situated in time and space enriched with phenomenological details). RESULTS Analysis demonstrated lower episodic positive, negative and neutral future thinking in participants with AUD than in control participants. Participants with AUD also demonstrated lower episodic positive and negative future thinking compared to episodic neutral future thinking. Interestingly, high depression scores were associated with overgenerality of neutral, positive, and negative future thinking in AUD participants. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate overgenerality of both positive and negative future thinking in AUD. This overgenerality may represent an avoidance strategy in which individuals with AUD may try to avoid the hopelessness and/or conflicts that may be activated when constructing future scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Louis Nandrino
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, CHU Lille, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Mohamad El Haj
- Nantes Université, Univ Angers, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL - EA 4638), F-44000, Nantes, France; Unité de Gériatrie, Centre Hospitalier de Tourcoing, Tourcoing, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.
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Eddy CM. What Do You Have in Mind? Measures to Assess Mental State Reasoning in Neuropsychiatric Populations. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:425. [PMID: 31354534 PMCID: PMC6636467 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interaction is closely associated with both functional capacity and well-being. Previous research has not only revealed evidence of social dysfunction in individuals with a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders but also generated an abundance of potential measures for assessing social cognition. This review explores the most popular measures used within neuropsychiatric populations to investigate the ability to recognize or reason about the mental states of others. Measures are also critically analyzed in terms of strengths and limitations to aid task selection in future clinical studies. The most frequently applied assessment tools use verbal, visual or audiovisual forms of presentation and assess recognition of mental states from facial features, self-rated empathy, the understanding of other's cognitive mental states such as beliefs and intentions, or the ability to combine knowledge of other's thoughts and emotions in order to understand subtle communications or socially inappropriate behavior. Key weaknesses of previous research include limited investigation of relationships with clinical symptoms, and underutilization of measures of everyday social functioning that offer a useful counterpart to traditional "lab" tasks. Future studies should aim to carefully select measures not only based on the range of skills to be assessed but also taking into account potential difficulties with interpretation and the need to gain insight into the application of social cognitive skills as well as ability per se. Some of the best measures include those with well-matched control trials (e.g., Yoni Task) or those that restrict the influence of verbal deficits (e.g., intentions comic strip task), elicit spontaneous mentalizing (e.g., Animations Task), and possess greater ecological validity (e.g., Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition). Social cognitive research within psychiatric populations will be further enhanced through the development of more closely matched control tasks, and the exploration of relationships between task performance, medication, strategy use, and broader emotional and motor functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare M. Eddy
- Research and Innovation, BSMHFT National Centre for Mental Health, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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Cox S, Maurage P, O'Connor R, Chandler C, Riggs K. Automatic visual-spatial perspective taking in alcohol-dependence: A study with happy emotional faces. Drug Alcohol Depend 2018; 190:42-45. [PMID: 29966852 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding the world from another's perspective is an important and potentially automatic human process which is crucial for efficient social interactions. However, while deficits have repeatedly been described for various interpersonal abilities in alcohol-dependence (AD), only one previous study has investigated perspective taking in this pathology. AIM The current study aimed to explore further how AD affects visual-spatial perspective taking (VSPT) by examining the effect of positive emotional stimuli on VSPT in both an AD and non-AD sample. METHODS Reaction times (RT) for simple spatial judgments were measured. Participants made these judgments from their perspective, but judgments were either congruent or incongruent with the perspective of another agent. The emotion conveyed by that agent (happy or neutral) was manipulated across trials. RESULTS Compared to baseline, both AD and non-AD groups displayed delayed RTs for spatial judgments when these were incongruent with the perspective of a happy agent (the expected VSPT RT cost, indicating automatic VSPT). The AD, but not the non-AD group, further displayed a VSPT RT cost when the agent expressed a neutral emotion. CONCLUSION There was no evidence that AD compromised automatic VSPT. However, as in previous research, AD was associated with differences in the processing of emotional stimuli. Future research should explore which 'real-world' settings are likely to trigger social confusion and misunderstanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Cox
- Centre for Addictive Behaviours Research, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London, SE1 0AA, UK.
| | - Pierre Maurage
- Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place C. Mercier 10, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Richard O'Connor
- Department of Psychology, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU16 4RS, UK
| | - Chris Chandler
- Department of Psychology, London Metropolitan University, Tower Building, Holloway Road, London, NT 7DT, UK
| | - Kevin Riggs
- Department of Psychology, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU16 4RS, UK
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