title: [Theoretical reflection on the place of memory and temporal cognitive mechanisms in addictive disorders].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Addictions can be regarded as cognitive disorders related to neurobiological impairments. On the one hand, some cognitive impairments occur as a result of substance intake and withdrawal upon stopping intake, while, on the other hand, cognitive mechanisms are responsible for initiating and maintaining addiction. In this review, we detail the memory and temporal mechanisms involved in this pathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the literature dedicated to the mechanisms of conditioning association between a substance and a context, and the memory and temporal mechanisms involved in the maintenance of addiction. Cognitive impairments in this context are accompanied by both short-term and long-term neurobiological disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drug-context conditioning is dependent on learning abilities in rats and humans, and it is the first step towards the development of an addiction. In fact, with the beginning of an addiction, it is the context associated with the substance intake, which determines the reinforcing factors (such as pleasure in the case of drug consumption) for the development of an addiction. Maintenance of addiction is related to the persistence of this association between context and substance. Furthermore, the impulsiveness of patients renders them unable to delay their gratification. Consequently, even if delayed gratifications are more valuable, patients prefer immediate gratification such as substance use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The memory and temporal mechanisms of addiction are central to the initiation and maintenance of drug addiction. They also affect patients' ability to develop projects for the future. The salience of the memory association between drug and context is accompanied by a decline in autobiographical memories, which become poor and lacking in detail. It is probably these impairments which are responsible for the difficulty that the patients have while investigating their story during psychotherapy. On the other hand, given that even though delayed gratification is greater patients prefer immediate gratification, they have difficulty making plans for the future and constructing their own personality. These cognitive impairments are sustained by neurobiological correlates such as dopamine dysregulation in the short-term and changes in neural plasticity in the cortico-meso-limbic system in the long term.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We reviewed full arguments which highlight that addiction is mediated by cognitive mechanisms which are related on the one hand to clinical symptoms and, on the other hand, to neurobiological alterations. According to the literature, memory and time mechanisms seem to be central to the initiation and maintenance of addictive behaviours. More research is needed to improve our knowledge of the cognitive mechanisms of addiction and to develop new tools for treating patients.
authors.affiliation: Service de psychiatrie 1, clinique psychiatrique, CHU de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'Hôpital, 67091 Strasbourg cedex, France; Inserm 1114, CHU de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67091 Strasbourg cedex, France. Electronic address: laurence.lalanne@chru-strasbourg.fr.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lalanne
authors.affiliation: Maison des addictions, CHU de Nancy, 54000 Nancy, France; CIC-Inserm 9501, centre d'investigation clinique, CHU de Nancy, 54000 Nancy, France.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Laprevote
authors.affiliation: Service de psychiatrie 1, clinique psychiatrique, CHU de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'Hôpital, 67091 Strasbourg cedex, France; Inserm 1114, CHU de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67091 Strasbourg cedex, France.
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Danion
authors.affiliation: Inserm 1114, CHU de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67091 Strasbourg cedex, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bacon
mesh_terms: D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D013998:Time Perception
keywords: Addiction; Association between drug and context; Associations stimulus–substance; Autobiographical memories; Cognition; Cognitive mechanisms of addiction; Mécanismes cognitifs des addictions; Neurobiologie de l’addiction; Remédiation cognitive; Surgénéralisation des souvenirs; Time overestimation; Troubles de l’estimation de la durée