Date created: | Last Updated:
: DOI | ARK
Creating DOI. Please wait...
Category: Project
Description: Authors: Antonio Verdejo-Garcia, Tara Rezapour, Arash Khojasteh, Parnian Rafei, Jamie Berry, Marc Copersino, Alfonso Caracuel, Matt Field, Eric Garland, Valentina Lorenzetti, Leandro Malloy-Diniz, Victoria Manning, Ely Marceau, David Pennington, Justin Strickland, Reinout Wiers, Emily Giddens, Rahia Kairhead, Hamed Ekhtiari NOTE: Please refer to the document 'Delphi cognitive boosting protocol v7.5 (updated 17:9:21)' for additional protocol details that were omitted from the preregistration in error. All amendments are written in RED text. Background: Substance use disorders (SUD) are associated with cognitive deficits (Verdejo-Garcia et al., 2019). These cognitive deficits in memory, attention, executive functions and decision-making disturb normal daily functioning (Laloyaux et al., 2012; Rubenis et al., 2018). Furthermore, cognitive deficits are associated with worse outcomes of SUD treatments (Dominguez-Salas et al., 2016). Current conventional treatment programs for SUD are mainly focused on abstinence from drugs with or without the assistance of medications, with the assumption that these cognitive deficits will subsequently recover. However, cognitive deficits are found to persist even after long-term abstinence and are thought to contribute to relapse, decrease the quality of life, or lack of reintegration into society (Fernandez-Serrano et al., 2011). Furthermore, cognitive deficits are considered as potential obstacles for engagement in therapy services and associated mood, anxiety, and trauma-related comorbidities (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapies) (Rezapour, 2015). There are numerous publications available with different levels of evidence around the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation for people with SUD; however, this has resulted in very few well-structured interventions for improving cognitive functions for SUD populations. Some of these cognitive rehabilitation interventions were initially designed for people with other types of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as traumatic brain injuries or schizophrenia, while there were no specific adaptations for people with SUD and addiction treatment programs (Rezapour, 2015). Notwithstanding the lack of well-structured interventions, various ongoing investigations and research are expanding the field with more promising results. (Anderson et al., 2021, Nardo 2021). To find out the best approaches for strengthening cognitive functions in people with SUD within the context of addiction treatment, we have decided to reach a consensus on the best suite of mechanistic targets, approaches, active ingredients, and parameters of delivery for interventions aimed to strengthen cognitive functions to improve the outcomes of addiction treatment.