FUTURE-ORIENTED COGNITION AND ADDICTION: WHERE DO WE STAND

Background and Aim : The ability to plan for the future and predict the probable conditions is an exceptional ability of human’s brain which control and direct behaviors towards future consequences. This future-oriented cognition encompasses various components, including Episodic Future thinking (EFT) and Prospective memory (PM). EFT is the capacity to mentally travel forward in time to pre-experience the events which may happen in the future. While PM refers to the ability to remember to perform an intended action in the specific episode of the future. Notable interest within the field of addiction has been directed toward impairment of future-oriented cognition, recently. The present paper considers this topic within the context of a brief review to indicate the current state of knowledge.Methods : Empirical articles published from 2000 to 2019 in the English language were identified through searching in PubMed and Web of Science databases, with the keywords including Episodic future thinking , Episodic simulation , Episodic foresight , Prospection , Prospective memory , AND Substance use . Papers were excluded, if the focus was on a cognitive ability other than those associated with EFT and PM, or have investigated the association between these functions and other cognitive measures (e.g., decision-making or delay discounting).Results : There were 16 studies which have met our criteria to be included in the review. 9 studies examined the EFT impairments (among gamblers, opiate and cannabis users) and 7 studies considered the PM deficits (among alcohol, MDMA and Methamphetamine users). Opiate users significantly displayed impairment in the EFT task; furthermore, difficulties were reported with self-projection through time but not the scene construction. Among the cannabis users, EFT was disrupted in regular cannabis users, but unlikely to be impaired in recreational ones. Heavy alcohol consumption was found to impair the episodic content of PM. Methamphetamine users experienced remarkable deficits in prospection tasks, even during the abstinence. MDMA users experienced generalized difficulties with PM. Disordered gambling was associated with a reduction in multiple episodic foresight aspects.Conclusion : Future-oriented cognition, including EFT and PM, are markedly critical cognitive abilities that are impaired in various groups of substance users. Therefore, training EFT and PM in addition to other impaired cognitive functions could have beneficial effects for substance users that may help them to adjust their own behaviors toward more future consequences instead of the immediate ones.

کلیدواژه ها:

Future-oriented cognition ، Episodic future thinking ، Prospective memory ، Substance use disorder