title: Addiction and cognition.
abstract: The brain regions and neural processes that underlie addiction overlap extensively with those that support cognitive functions, including learning, memory, and reasoning. Drug activity in these regions and processes during early stages of abuse foster strong maladaptive associations between drug use and environmental stimuli that may underlie future cravings and drug-seeking behaviors. With continued drug use, cognitive deficits ensue that exacerbate the difficulty of establishing sustained abstinence. The developing brain is particularly susceptible to the effects of drugs of abuse; prenatal, childhood, and adolescent exposures produce long-lasting changes in cognition. Patients with mental illness are at high risk for substance abuse, and the adverse impact on cognition may be particularly deleterious in combination with cognitive problems related to their mental disorders.
authors: Department of Psychology and Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA. tgould@temple.edu
authors: Thomas J
authors: TJ
authors: Gould
mesh_terms: D016739:Behavior, Addictive; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008568:Memory; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*