اعتیاد و عملکردهای شناختی

Substance abuse and drug addiction have grown substantially throughout the world, and its growth has been considered to be a major medical problem and has been a source of concern for policy-makers and law enforcers. The tragic epidemic of addiction is severely threatened societies. In order to solve this problem and reduce the resulting damages, it is essential to obtain comprehensive information from different angles of this phenomenon. Drugs are diverse in terms of species and consequently, have caused various damages. . One of these damages is an impairment of brain function in individuals with substance abuse. Dependence on the substance leads to cognitive disfunction. Defective cognitive function may lead to poor treatment results. A review of studies showed that cognitive functions are weaker in people with substance abuse than normal people. Drug use has a negative effect on the brain of the abusers and it prevents the patients to reachive the normal life, even during the substance avoidance period. Identifying and understanding cognitive changes lead to different therapeutic approaches in addition to helping to better understand the problem. Therefore, attention to cognitive functions and cognitive rehabilitation in drug-dependent individuals may lead to better health outcomes.