Social cognition in addiction

Abstract

Social problems and the neglect of social relationships and activities are essential features of substance use disorders (SUDs). Recently, social impairments of individuals with specific SUD have begun to be characterized at the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral level by neuropsychological and social neuroscience methods. Growing evidence suggests that specific SUDs are associated with specific dysfunctions in social cognition and interaction, and that these impairments likely contribute to the social dysfunctions occurring in the daily life of SUD-affected people. It has also been proposed that sociocognitive deficits-such as decreased emotional empathy, worsened mental perspective-taking, and a blunted ability to perceive reward from social interactions-play a prominent role in the establishment, development, and course of therapeutic relationships, where they potentially hamper treatment success. This chapter provides a brief overview of the current status of social cognition research in SUD and discusses future directions for the assessment and treatment of social impairments in SUD.

Classical Psychedelics as Therapeutics in Psychiatry – Current Clinical Evidence and Potential Therapeutic Mechanisms in Substance Use and Mood Disorders

“…Problems in interpersonal relationships are important factors contributing to the development and maintenance of psychiatric disorders. As recently reviewed by Quendow [87], SUD patients suffer from various impairments in social processing, such as difficulties in emotion recognition, reductions in empathy, and changes in social decision making. Alterations in social reward processing in cocaine users have furthermore been associated with fewer social contacts in real life [84].…”

The subjective experience of heroin effects among individuals with chronic opioid use: Revisiting reinforcement in an exploratory study

“…We did not observe any differences between reinforcement groups in socio-demographic, addiction severity, or treatment variables. However, we were limited to baseline information available from the primary trial, and the available variables to characterize addiction severity (i.e., the ASI and quantity/duration of heroin use) may not fully represent the impairments in psychosocial and behavioral functioning related to OUD [ 66 , 67 ]. Thus, future studies are tasked with moving beyond these sample characteristics, exploring behavioral and psychological correlates of and differential treatment responses associated with reinforcement phenotypes.…”

Impaired social decision‐making in males with methamphetamine use disorder

“…Moreover, a longitudinal study on cocaine users revealed slight improvements in prosocial behaviour in the dictator game and distribution game after 1 year of abstinence 16 . However, few studies have directly investigated the prosocial decision‐making processes of individuals with MUD and how these individuals value their own interests over the interests of others 17,18 . Therefore, the aim of the present research was to investigate how individuals with MUD would behave during a prosocial decision‐making task.…”

“…16 However, few studies have directly investigated the prosocial decision-making processes of individuals with MUD and how these individuals value their own interests over the interests of others. 17,18 Therefore, the aim of the present research was to investigate how individuals with MUD would behave during a prosocial decision-making task.…”