Suppression of Competing Memories in Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

Abstract

To maintain an adaptive and flexible behavior, we need to be able to override habitual or inappropriate responses when circumstances require a change in the course of action. This ability, often termed "inhibitory control," is a core cognitive process that is essential to goal-directed behavior. Given the importance of this process, it is not surprising that it has been found to be impaired in a broad range of psychiatric conditions. In particular, inhibitory deficits represent a consistent feature characterizing substance-related and addictive disorders. Until now, however, research in this domain focused almost exclusively on inhibitory control of overt actions (e.g., Smith, Mattick, Jamadar, & Iredale, 2014). Here, we investigated the relationship between substance-related and addictive disorders and inhibitory control, with a focus on alcohol and heroin addiction. Poor inhibitory control is indeed a key feature of this class of disorders, acting as both a development and maintenance factor, and potentially emerging as a consequence of it (Smith et al., 2014). For example, it has been hypothesized that individuals with lower levels of inhibitory control may have higher chances of developing substance use disorders. Related to this point, substance abuse often sets off during adolescence. According to some authors (e.g., López-Caneda, Rodríguez Holduín, Cadaveira, Corral, & Doallo, 2014), inhibitory mechanisms and their neural underpinnings are still immature during adolescence, and this may increase the propensity to engage in substance abuse as compared to adults.

Memory suppression and its deficiency in psychological disorders: A focused meta-analysis

“…Moreover, a similar pattern has been reported on indirect measures of memory performance (Hertel, Maydon, Ogilvie, & Mor, 2018). The pattern is also consistent with several studies that had similarly related deficient control processes at retrieval with clinical phenomena (e.g., GAD, Kircanski et al, 2016;clinical depression, Groome & Sterkaj, 2008; substance-related and addictive disorders, Stramaccia,Penolazzi,760 Monego, Manzan, Castelli, & Galfano, 2017). More generally, these results are consistent with a recent meta-analysis that associated broader cognitive control deficits with negative thinking (Zetsche, Bürkner, and Schulze, 2018).…”

TDCS over the right inferior frontal gyrus disrupts control of interference in memory: A retrieval-induced forgetting study

“…Inhibitory processing underlying RIF has been associated to a range of abilities closely tied to our wellbeing and cognitive efficiency, ranging from working memory to creative problem solving (Nørby, 2015;Storm, 2011). Therefore, it is important to note that it has been found to be impaired in a broad range of disorders traditionally characterized by impulsivity, worry, or rumination (e.g., in obsessive-compulsive disorder, Demeter, Keresztes, Harsányi, Csigó, & Racsmány, 2014; in clinical depression, Groome & Sterkaj, 2010;in schizophrenia, Soriano, Jiménez, Román, & Bajo, 2009;in ADHD, Storm & White, 2010; in substance-related disorders, Stramaccia, Penolazzi, Monego, et al, 2017;in Anorexia Nervosa, Stramaccia, Penolazzi, Libardi, et al, 2017), where alterations of PFC functioning have also been reported. For this reason, there is a great interest in identifying the neural underpinnings of RIF, as well as developing effective strategies to modulate their activity, and clarifying the relationship of the phenomenon with other expressions of cognitive control in different domains.…”

Testing the transdiagnostic hypothesis of inhibitory control deficits in addictions: An experimental study on gambling disorder

“…Consistent with Stramaccia et al (2017b), we expected patients with GD to exhibit higher scores of self-rated impulsivity than controls. Based on recent evidence showing impairments of different inhibitory components in GD (Kertzman, Vainder, Aizer, Kotler, & Dannon, 2017), and given the similarity of GD and SRD with respect to various inhibitory deficits indexed by response and choice impulsivity (Leeman & Potenza, 2012), we expected a cognitive inhibition impairment in our sample, similar to that reported for patients with SRD (e.g., No€ el et al, 2009;Stramaccia et al, 2017b;Zou, Zhang, Huang, & Weng, 2011). Correlations between task performance and questionnaire scores were expected, with self-report gambling features being mainly associated to inhibitory deficits.…”

“…Sixty participants entered the study: 30 outpatients with a diagnosis of GD and 30 healthy control (HC) individuals matched for the most relevant socio-demographic variables (see Table 1). Sample size was based on the study by Stramaccia et al (2017b). Patients were recruited in two mental health services in Northern Italy and diagnosed by a boardcertified attending research team of psychiatrists through the examination of past medical records and a semi-structured interview based on the DSM-IV-TR adapted to the DSM 5.…”

“…In the case of addictive disorders, research has focused almost exclusively on inhibitory control of overt actions (e.g., Leeman & Potenza, 2012;Smith, Mattick, Jamadar, & Iredale, 2014), although the ability to inhibit interfering memories may be critical to suppress intrusive thoughts that can, in turn, trigger craving episodes (May, Andrade, Panabokke, & Kavanagh, 2004). In this regard, a recent study in the domain of substance-related disorders (SRD) has reported a selective deficit in inhibiting competing memories in two clinical samples diagnosed with alcohol and heroin addictions, despite preserved motor inhibition (Stramaccia, Penolazzi, Monego, Manzan, Castelli, & Galfano, 2017b). In addition to self-report measures, this study used cognitive tasks tapping different components of inhibitory control: i.e., a go/no-go task, to assess motor response inhibition, and the RPP, to measure incidental memory inhibition.…”