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Objective: We aimed to investigate whether the number of sessions delivered within one day influences the acute and long-term effects of transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) applied over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on inhibitory control., Methods: Thirty-six healthy participants were randomly assigned to receive either (i) 3 active (3A), (ii) 1 active and 2 sham (1A2S) or (iii) 3 sham (3S) tRNS sessions. The 3 tRNS were delivered consecutively in the same half-day separated by 30min with the anode over the right and the cathode over the left DLPFC. The effects of tRNS on inhibitory control were assessed 5 times using a Go/No Go task: at baseline (T0), after one tRNS session (T1), after the 3 sessions (T3), 1 (D1) and 8 (D8) days after., Results: As compared to sham, active tRNS did not acutely modulate accuracy in the Go/No Go task but decreased reaction times at Go trials. At D1, participants who received at least one active tRNS sessions (3A and 1A2S groups) were faster than those who received 3 sessions of sham. At D8, only the participants who received 3 active tRNS sessions were faster to successfully respond to Go trials as compared to sham., Discussion: Three active tRNS sessions induced longer effects on reaction times than a single session of active tRNS, compared to sham. These findings suggested that delivering repeated tRNS sessions on the same day induces more sustained effects than delivering a single session., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

This study was designed to determine how impulsivity, self-regulation, and response withholding are related to one another and to university students' drinking behavior. Participants (N = 108) completed measures of impulsivity, self-regulation, and alcohol consumption. In addition, a computerized Go/No Go task and a backward memory task were used to measure participants' behavioral impulsivity and their memory capacity. The aim was to determine whether (a) light/moderate and heavy drinkers would respond differently when the task stimuli were alcohol-related compared to when they were alcohol-unrelated and (b) whether the accuracy of participants' responses was related to their cognitive ability. Compared to light/moderate drinkers, heavy drinkers were low in self-regulation and high in impulsivity. Heavy drinkers and those with lower memory capacity were also poorer at withholding responses on No Go trials. These findings point to personality/cognitive characteristics that influence university students' alcohol consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prospective memory and response inhibition are interrelated constructs, though studied separately in the drug addiction literature. Also, although sustained attention underlies response inhibition, its role in the relation between these functions has been largely neglected. The limited research on the cognitive effects of methadone-maintenance treatment (MMT) further stresses the importance of investigating these effects. Objective: Therefore, the current study focused on possible effects of MMT combined with long-term drug abuse on all these functions. Thirty five long term opiate/poly-substance users in MMT and thirty four drug-free controls were screened for socioeconomic status, anxiety, depression and general, non-verbal intelligence and then tested on a self-report measure of prospective memory and on the Go/No-Go task. Results: Compared to controls, the MMT group scored worse in all functions assessed. Prospective memory scores were also negatively related to Go/NoGo accuracy scores. Conclusion: As predicted, (a) the MMT participants show impairments in prospective memory, sustained attention and response inhibition and (b) prospective memory, response inhibition and sustained attention are related constructs. The results of this study could inform current rehabilitation and relapse prevention cognitive training practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]