Substance abuse and susceptibility to false memory formation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundSubstance abuse has an impact on various cognitive domains, including memory. Even though this impact has been extensively examined across different subdomains, false memory has been sparsely studied. This systematic review and meta-analysis seek to synthesize the current scientific data concerning false memory formation in individuals with a history of substance abuse.MethodsPubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO were searched to identify all experimental and observational studies in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Studies were then examined by four independent reviewers and, if they met the inclusion criteria, assessed for their quality. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklists for quasi-experimental and analytic cross-sectional studies were used to assess the risk of bias.ResultsFrom the 443 screened studies, 27 (and two more from other sources) were considered eligible for full-text review. A final 18 studies were included in the present review. Of these, 10 were conducted with alcoholics or heavy drinkers, four focused on ecstasy/polydrug users, three were done with cannabis users and one focused on methadone maintenance patients with current cocaine dependence. Regarding false memory type, 15 studies focused on false recognition/recall, and three on provoked confabulation.ConclusionsNone but one of the studies considering false recognition/recall of critical lures found any significant differences between individuals with a history of substance abuse and healthy controls. However, most of the studies taking into account false recognition/recall of related and unrelated events found that individuals with a history of substance abuse showed significantly higher rates of false memories than controls. Future research should continue to consider different types of false memories as well as their potential association with relevant clinical variables.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=266503, identifier: CRD42021266503.

Beyond the Smoke: A Phenomenological Study of Health and Social Implications of Kush Use Among Sierra Leonean Youths

“…As identified by the participants, Kush use has multifaceted effects that cut across physical health worries, psychological and cognitive changes, social relationship straining, and economic hardships, among others. These multiple effects [15][16][17] call for comprehensive interventions that cover not just the health-related aspects of substance use but also its social [18] and economic dimensions. Analysis of the focus group discussions revealed a strong desire among the participants to quit Kush, driven by the multifactorial effects and the need to avoid any chance of the substance's ill effects.…”