Recovery of anterior prefrontal cortex inhibitory control after 15 weeks of inpatient treatment in heroin use disorder

Heroin addiction imposes a devastating toll on society. Poor inhibitory control is a common prefrontal cortex (PFC) impairment in addiction, and its potential recovery after treatment is unknown. We examined inhibitory control performance (stop-signal response time) and target detection sensitivity (d′) and brain activity in 26 individuals with heroin use disorder (the iHUD group) and 24 healthy controls (the HC group) at two time points, approximately 15 weeks apart. We found comparable stop-signal response time and a nonsignificant general d′ impairment trend in the iHUD group versus the HC group. The iHUD group generally (and at baseline) exhibited lower right anterior and dorsolateral PFC engagement versus the HC group, with increases at follow-up; right aPFC increases correlated with d′ increases in the iHUD group. In sum, baseline anterior PFC and dorsolateral PFC impairments in the iHUD group associated with individual differences in sensitivity improvements recovered at follow-up. These results highlight the anterior PFC and dorsolateral PFC as potential interventional targets for self-control recovery in heroin addiction. The authors examined the effect of psychosocial therapy, in addition to medication for heroin dependence, on inhibitory control brain activity and behavioral performance in individuals with heroin use disorder.