Executive cognitive functioning and risk for substance abuse

Individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD) exhibit deficits in executi ve cognitive functioning (ECF). ECF is involved in the regulation of goal-d irected behavior and includes abilities such as attentional control, strate gic goal planning, organization, and cognitive flexibility. The prefrontal cortex is believed to be the primary cortical substrate that subserves ECE Children deemed at high risk for drug abuse because they have parents with SUD similarly demonstrate cognitive limitations suggesting an ECF deficit. High-risk children, as a group, also exhibit deviations in temperament, an attenuated amplitude of the P300 event-related potential, and heightened ag gressivity compared with control groups. These latter characteristics are a ssociated with low ECF capacity and are believed to reflect dysfunction wit hin the prefrontal cortex. It is hypothesized that deviations on these trai ts form a core disorder of affective, cognitive, and behavioral dysregulati on that serves as a general vulnerability factor for SUD.