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The Role of Executive Control in Human Drug Addiction

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Behavioral Neuroscience of Drug Addiction

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences ((CTBN,volume 3))

Abstract

Recent neurobiological models propose that executive control deficits play a critical role in the development and maintenance of drug addiction. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of executive control processes and their constituent neural network, and examine neuropsychological and neuroimaging evidence of executive control dysfunction in addicted drug users. We explore the link between attentional biases to drug-related stimuli and treatment outcome, and discuss recent work demonstrating that the hedonic balance between drug cues and natural reinforcers is abnormal in addiction. Finally, we consider the potential impact of early drug use on the developing adolescent brain, and discuss research examining premorbid executive control impairments in drug-naïve “at-risk” populations.

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Abbreviations

WM:

Working memory

WCST:

Wisconsin card sorting test

PET:

Positron emission tomography

EEG:

Electroencephalography

fMRI:

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

ERP:

Event related potential

ACC:

Anterior cingualte cortex

PTSD:

Post-traumatic stress disorder

rACC:

Rostral anterior cingulate cortex

SUD:

Substance use disorder

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Acknowledgment

Drs Hester and Yücel are supported by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Career Development Grants (519730 (RH) and 509345 (MY)).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Robert Hester

  2. Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Faculty of Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Dan I. Lubman

  3. Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Murat Yücel

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  1. Robert Hester
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  2. Dan I. Lubman
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  3. Murat Yücel
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Correspondence to Robert Hester .

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  1. Southwestern Medical Center, University of Texas, Harry Hines Blvd. 5323, Dallas, 75390-9070, U.S.A.

    David W. Self

  2. School of Medicine, Yale University, Campell Ave. 950, West Haven, 06516, U.S.A.

    Julie K. Staley Gottschalk

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Hester, R., Lubman, D.I., Yücel, M. (2010). The Role of Executive Control in Human Drug Addiction. In: Self, D., Staley Gottschalk, J. (eds) Behavioral Neuroscience of Drug Addiction. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, vol 3. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2009_28

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