Addiction and Cognition PMC

The typical cognitive domains contributing to this understanding of addiction are attention, response inhibition, decision-making and working memory. Cognitive impairments in substance use disorders have been extensively researched, especially since the advent of cognitive and computational neuroscience and neuroimaging methods in the last twenty years. Conceptually, altered cognitive function1 can be viewed as a hallmark feature of substance-use disorders, with documented alterations in the well-known “executive” domains of attention, inhibition/regulation, working memory and decision-making. Poor cognitive (sometimes referred to as “top-down”) regulation of downstream motivational processes – whether appetitive (reward, incentive salience) or aversive (stress, negative affect) – is recognized as a fundamental impairment in addiction, and a potentially important target for intervention.

• Recently a new systemic conceptual framework for neuroscience, the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) NIH Initiative, was launched7.
• Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort you feel when you have two contradictory beliefs or values.
• As addressed in this special issue, cognitive impairment is a transdiagnostic domain2; thus, advances in the characterization and treatment of cognitive dysfunction in substance-use disorders could have benefit across multiple psychiatric disorders.

Finally, information overload theory posits that when individuals are exposed to excessive information, their ability to process and comprehend the information is compromised, leading to cognitive overload and dissonance [101]. The study’s findings add to the body of literature cognitive dissonance and addiction supporting this theory, particularly in the context of pan-entertainment mobile live broadcast platforms. The study identifies information overload as a critical factor contributing to cognitive dissonance, leading to discontinuous usage intentions among platform users.

Cognitive behavioural interventions in addictive disorders

Substances like alcohol, cannabis, stimulants and opioids are psychoactive drugs that may change brain function and structure after chronic use, and result in cognitive and behavioural deficits that remain even after detoxification. The prevalence of cognitive impairments in patients with SUD is still unclear 2 and is estimated between 30% and 80% 3. This wide range includes, for instance, differences in the mode of action between substances, years and amount of regular use, and effects of gender. As each substance has different effects on brain functioning the consequences of prolonged substance use, such as cognitive impairments, will also differ between substances. Laboratory models that require participants to attempt inhibition of craving to drug video cues71 provide a close parallel to the “real world” challenges faced by patients in recovery. In general, the neuroimaging literature has identified poorer recruitment (hypoactivity) of “top-down” inhibitory regions in drug users vs. controls during simple laboratory tasks of inhibition; this is especially marked in stimulant users49,50,58,60,72–74.

• After an overindulging evening in a special event, he may experience an intense feeling of discomfort (regret and guilt) for his behavior.
• Pan-entertainment mobile live broadcast users experience information overload, service overload, and user addiction, leading to cognitive dissonance and resulting in discontinuous usage intention.
• The wife was involved in therapy, to support his abstinence and help him engage in alternate activities.
• It is possible to resolve cognitive dissonance by either changing one’s behavior or changing one’s beliefs so they are consistent with each other.

For example, modafinil (dopamine drug with potential abuse liability) improved delay discounting112 and atomoxetine (non-dopamine drug without abuse liability) improved impaired executive function113. Even though a clinical trial of atomoxetine in cocaine addiction was disappointing114, there is an ongoing need for medications that can either reduce the implicit, automated processes in decision-making, bolster the deliberative processes, or both. In the domain of attention, the response to drug cues is fast, involuntary, and implicit – the product of powerful prior associative learning. The individual struggling a substance-use disorder does not need to consciously, deliberately focus attention on a drug-related cue for it to have a motivating effect on the individual21,118.

What Is Cognitive Dissonance?

Increasing our awareness about what we believe, think, and do is the first step to making the changes we want to make. In fact, according to Cooper (2007), “Festinger’s insistence that cognitive dissonance was like a drive that needed to be reduced implied that people were going to have to find some way of resolving their inconsistencies. People do not just prefer to eat, rather than starve; they are biologically driven to eat. Similarly, people who are in the throes of inconsistency in their social life are driven to resolve that inconsistency”.

Emotionally, individuals may feel guilt, shame, or anxiety as a result of their addictive behaviors conflicting with their personal values. Cognitively, they may experience internal debates and justifications, which further exacerbate the psychological struggle. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ The discomfort (dissonance) motivates individuals to decrease the inconsistency between one’s wishes and beliefs. After all, behaving against one’s wishes and intentions violates a fundamental human need to see oneself as a rational and consistent person.