title: Cognitive neuroscience of cognitive retraining for addiction medicine: From mediating mechanisms to questions of efficacy.
abstract: Cognitive retraining or cognitive bias modification (CBM) involves having subjects repeatedly perform a computerized task designed to reduce the impact of automatic processes that lead to harmful behavior. We first discuss the theory underlying CBM and provide a brief overview of important research progress in its application to addiction. We then focus on cognitive- and neural-mediating mechanisms. We consider recent criticism of both CBM and its theoretical foundations. Evaluations of CBM could benefit from considering theory-driven factors that may determine variations in efficacy, such as motivation. Concerning theory, while there is certainly room for fundamental advances in current models, we argue that the basic view of impulsive behavior and its control remains a useful and productive heuristic. Finally, we briefly discuss some interesting new directions for CBM research: enhancement of training via transcranial direct current stimulation, online training, and gamification, i.e., the use of gameplay elements to increase motivation.
authors.affiliation: Addiction Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Centre-Military Mental Health, Ministry of Defense, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: thomas.gladwin@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Gladwin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu, Berlin, Germany; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: r.wiers@uva.nl.
authors.forename: Corinde E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Wiers
authors.affiliation: Addiction Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Reinout W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Wiers
mesh_terms: D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D000066494:Cognitive Neuroscience; D006801:Humans; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
keywords: Addiction; Bias; CBM; Cognitive bias modification; Implicit measures; Mechanisms; Neuroimaging