Brooks Samantha J, Funk Sabina G, Young Susanne Y, Schiöth Helgi B
Functional Pharmacology, Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala UniversityUppsala, Sweden.
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape TownCape Town, South Africa.
Front Psychol. 2017 Sep 22;8:1651. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01651. eCollection 2017.
Prefrontal cortex executive functions, such as working memory (WM) interact with limbic processes to foster impulse control. Such an interaction is referred to in a growing body of publications by terms such as cognitive control, cognitive inhibition, affect regulation, self-regulation, top-down control, and cognitive-emotion interaction. The rising trend of research into cognitive control of impulsivity, using various related terms reflects the importance of research into impulse control, as failure to employ cognitions optimally may eventually result in mental disorder. Against this background, we take a novel approach using an impulse control spectrum model - where anorexia nervosa (AN) and substance use disorder (SUD) are at opposite extremes - to examine the role of WM for cognitive control. With this aim, we first summarize WM processes in the healthy brain in order to frame a systematic review of the neuropsychological, neural and genetic findings of AN and SUD. In our systematic review of WM/cognitive control, we found = 15 studies of AN with a total of = 582 AN and = 365 HC participants; and = 93 studies of SUD with = 9106 SUD and = 3028 HC participants. In particular, we consider how WM load/capacity may support the neural process of excessive epistemic foraging (cognitive sampling of the environment to test predictions about the world) in AN that reduces distraction from salient stimuli. We also consider the link between WM and cognitive control in people with SUD who are prone to 'jumping to conclusions' and reduced epistemic foraging. Finally, in light of our review, we consider WM training as a novel research tool and an adjunct to enhance treatment that improves cognitive control of impulsivity.
前额叶皮质执行功能，如工作记忆（WM），与边缘系统过程相互作用以促进冲动控制。越来越多的出版物用认知控制、认知抑制、情感调节、自我调节、自上而下控制和认知 - 情感相互作用等术语来描述这种相互作用。使用各种相关术语对冲动性认知控制的研究呈上升趋势，这反映了冲动控制研究的重要性，因为未能最佳地运用认知最终可能导致精神障碍。在此背景下，我们采用一种新颖的方法，使用一个冲动控制谱模型——神经性厌食症（AN）和物质使用障碍（SUD）处于相反的极端——来研究工作记忆对认知控制的作用。出于这个目的，我们首先总结健康大脑中的工作记忆过程，以便对神经性厌食症和物质使用障碍的神经心理学、神经和遗传研究结果进行系统综述。在我们对工作记忆/认知控制的系统综述中，我们发现有15项关于神经性厌食症的研究，共有582名神经性厌食症患者和365名健康对照参与者；以及93项关于物质使用障碍的研究，有9106名物质使用障碍患者和3028名健康对照参与者。特别是，我们考虑工作记忆负荷/能力如何支持神经性厌食症中过度认知觅食（对环境进行认知采样以测试对世界的预测）的神经过程，从而减少来自显著刺激的干扰。我们还考虑了物质使用障碍患者中工作记忆与认知控制之间的联系，这些患者容易“急于下结论”且认知觅食减少。最后，根据我们的综述，我们将工作记忆训练视为一种新颖的研究工具和辅助手段，以增强改善冲动性认知控制的治疗效果。
