Comparing attention, impulsivity, and executive functions between patients with opiate use disorder: Buprenorphine maintenance treatment versus active users, in comparison with healthy controls

Didem Beşikci Keleş; Rabia Bilici; Batuhan Ayık; Muhsin Koray Kılıç; Wendy Kliewer

doi:10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_520_23

Comparing attention, impulsivity, and executive functions between patients with opiate use disorder: Buprenorphine maintenance treatment versus active users, in comparison with healthy controls

Indian J Psychiatry. 2024 Jan;66(1):90-97. doi: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_520_23. Epub 2024 Jan 25.

Authors

Didem Beşikci Keleş¹, Rabia Bilici¹, Batuhan Ayık¹, Muhsin Koray Kılıç¹, Wendy Kliewer²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Erenkoy Mental and Nervous Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Erenkoy, Turkey.
² Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond VA, US.

PMID: 38419927
PMCID: PMC10898529
DOI: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_520_23

Abstract

Background: Opioid use disorders (OUDs) affect over 16 million people worldwide, with a particularly high prevalence rate in Asia. OUDs are associated with significant health consequences, including neurocognitive impairment, which affects individuals' ability to make decisions, respond to stressful situations, and regulate behavior. Understanding the specific ways in which OUDs affect cognitive functioning is important in treatment considerations.

Methods: This study compared the attention, impulsivity, and executive functions of Turkish men with active OUD (n = 40) with those of men in remission from OUD who were on buprenorphine/naloxone maintenance (BMT; n = 41) and with those of a comparison group of healthy controls (HC; n = 43). The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) was used to assess neurocognitive functioning.

Results: Analyses found significant impairment in measures of continuous attention, cognitive impulsivity, motor impulsivity, and executive functions in the two patient groups compared to the control group, but the two patient groups did not differ from each other.

Conclusion: The data from this study indicate that individuals with OUD exhibit neurocognitive damage, and those in remission from OUD who receive maintenance treatment do not show improvement in this domain. Neurocognitive damages should be considered in long-term treatment planning of patients with OUD.

Keywords: Addiction; attention; executive functions; impulsivity; opioid dependence.