Although there is general consensus that altered brain structure and function underpins addictive disorders, clinicians working in addiction treatment rarely incorporate neuroscienceinformed approaches into their practice. We recently launched the Neuroscience Interest Group within the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM-NIG) to promote initiatives to bridge this gap. This article summarizes the ISAM-NIG key priorities and strategies to achieve implementation of addiction neuroscience knowledge and tools for the assessment and treatment of substance use disorders. We cover two assessment areas: cognitive assessment and neuroimaging, and two interventional areas: cognitive training/remediation and neuromodulation, where we identify key challenges and proposed solutions. We reason

Introduction Cognitive deficits are frequent after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and consequently could lead to a decrease in quality of life. This is the first study that has been conducted with the aim of examining the efficacy of a computerized cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CCRT) in improving quality of life in patients after CABG surgery. Methods In this study, an interventional trial with pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments in active (CCRT), active control and control groups was conducted. Seventy-five patients after CABG surgery were selected and assigned to the groups ( n = 25 for each group). CCRT consists of four modules of attention, working memory, response inhibition and processing speed training with graded schedule in 20-min sessions three times per week within 8 weeks. Cognitive functions (attention and working memory) were assessed by the tests of continuous performance, Flanker, useful field of view and digit span at three time points: pre- and post-intervention (T0 and T1) and 6-month follow-up (T2). Quality of life was assessed by the SF-36 questionnaire at the same time points. The CCRT group received the cognitive rehabilitation for 2 months, active control group received a sham version of CCRT in an equal time duration and control group did not receive any cognitive intervention. Results Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a time by group interaction on cognitive functions, with CCRT producing a significant improvement at T1 ( p < 0.01) and these improvements were maintained at T2. Moreover, in CCRT and active control groups, quality of life (QoL) improved at T1 and these improvements remained stable throughout follow-up (T2). However, improvement of QoL in CCRT group was greater than improvement of QoL in the other two groups at T1. Pearson’s correlation analysis shows a positive correlation between QoL improvement and sustained attention and working memory enhancement ( p < 0.05). Conclusion Cognitive rehabilitation can lead to a significant improvement in the cognitive functions that have been trained in patients receiving CABG. Interestingly enough, cognitive rehabilitation can also improve quality of life in patients after CABG surgery and this improvement is maintained for at least 6 months.

Psychoeducation (PE) is defined as an intervention with systematic, structured, and didactic knowledge transfer for an illness and its treatment, integrating emotional and motivational aspects to enable patients to cope with the illness and to improve its treatment adherence and efficacy. PE is considered an important component of treatment in both medical and psychiatric disorders, especially for mental health disorders associated with lack of insight, such as alcohol and substance use disorders (ASUDs). New advancements in neuroscience have shed light on how various aspects of ASUDs may relate to neural processes. However, the actual impact of neuroscience in the real-life clinical practice of addiction medicine is minimal. In this chapter, we provide a perspective on how PE in addiction medicine can be informed by neuroscience in two dimensions: content (knowledge we transfer in PE) and structure (methods we use to deliver PE). The content of conventional PE targets knowledge about etiology of illness, treatment process, adverse effects of prescribed medications, coping strategies, family education, and life skill training. Adding neuroscience evidence to the content of PE could be helpful in communicating not only the impact of drug use but also the beneficial impact of various treatments (i.e., on brain function), thus enhancing motivation for compliance and further destigmatizing their symptoms. PE can also be optimized in its “structure” by implicitly and explicitly engaging different neurocognitive processes, including salience/attention, memory, and self-awareness. There are many interactions between these two dimensions, structure and content, in the delivery of neuroscience-informed psychoeducation (NIPE). We explore these interactions in the development of a cartoon-based NIPE to promote brain recovery during addiction treatment as a part of the brain awareness for addiction recovery initiative.

Our findings provide evidence that adding CRT as an adjunct intervention to MMT can improve cognitive performance as well as abstinence from both opiates and stimulants.