A neurocognitive screening of the executive functions in Gambling Disorder: a preliminary study

This study investigated the potential of a new executive functions assessment battery developed for evaluating cognitive-neuropsychological correlates in addictions, and its remote administration in a sample of patients with gambling disorder (GD). The Battery for Executive Functions in the Addiction (BFE-A) comprises five neuropsychological tests aimed at measuring verbal short- and long-term memory, working memory, verbal and non-verbal cognitive flexibility, and focused attention - and a computerized Go/No-Go task modified with addiction-related stimuli to measure inhibitory control. Additionally, it includes a computerized Go/No Go task modified with addictionrelated stimuli to measure inhibitory control. The study compared results from an experimental sample of 13 GD-diagnosed patients recruited from ULSS 2 Marca Trevigiana, Servizio Dipendenze, Treviso, Italy, with a control sample of 13 healthy subjects. In the experimental sample, higher errors in verbal memory test repetition and lower word production in the verbal cognitive flexibility test were observed compared to controls. In the digitized Go/No Go task, GD reaction times were significantly longer than controls, particularly for neutral and addiction-related stimuli. Furthermore, higher impulsivity scores were found in the experimental sample compared to controls. Despite the exploratory nature of this study, the BFE-A demonstrated sensitivity in detecting alterations in memory and attentional bias observed in the inhibitory control task, alongside increased impulsivity, characterizing the executive deficits observed in GD. These findings underscore the potential of the digital battery as a new remote neurocognitive screening tool, valid and easy to apply, capable of providing relevant information for planning structured rehabilitation interventions