Inhibitory Control Dysfunction In Chronic Heroin Addicts: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials

Inhibitory control dysfunction is considered a core dimension in addicts. The major objective of this study is to compare the magnitude and spatial distribution of ERP components during response and inhibition in chronic heroin addicts(CHAs,N=13) and healthy controls(HCs,N=13) using a visual Go/Nogo task.The results show that CHAs manifest a decreased N2(Nogo minus Go) amplitude and a normal P3(Nogo minus Go) amplitude.There is no significant difference of N2 latency between groups, nor difference of P3 latency.This ERP type means lower level conflict monitoring and normal level response inhibition in CHAs than in HCs. Significent correlation between the duration of heroin abuse and Nogo-N2 (and Nogo-P3) latency was found.However,there are no significant correlation between months of abstinent and either Nogo-N2 or Nogo-P3 measures.These results suppose inhibitory control dysfunction in chronic heroin addicts.