Screening Executive Functions in Substance-Use Disorder: First Evidence from Testing of the Battery for Executive Functions in Addiction (BFE-A)

According to neurocognitive models of addiction, a vicious combination of altered executive functions (EF) and dysfunctional reward system represent a main determinant of clinical picture. We then report first evidence from the testing of the Battery for Executive Functions in Addiction (BFE-A), a novel battery for EF screening. The BFE-A consists of seven digitized subtests tapping on learning and memory, working memory, cognitive flexibility, focused attention, attention regulation and suppression of interference, and inhibitory control. One hundred fifty-one patients diagnosed with substance-use disorder and 56 healthy participants were administered the BFE-A. First-level statistical analyses highlighted lower performance of the clinical sample with respect to healthy participants across all the battery subtests, though verbal memory and focused attention proved to be the most impaired functions. Regression analyses, then, revealed that longer withdrawal periods led to greater memory performance and that a longer history of substance abuse specifically led to less efficient information-processing speed in an attention regulation task. Findings provide first support to the evaluation of the BFE-A as a brief but informative screening battery, potentially complementing the diagnostic process.