New Delhi, July 9 : In a recent study, scientists found a link between substance abuse including cocaine and alcohol addiction with long lasting changes in the brain. These changes can also lead to cognitive decline, found the study. The findings highlighted that these substances can have a detrimental affect of individual’s cognitive flexibility. This means that people intaking excess amount of cocaine or alcohol fail to adapt and switch between different tasks or strategies.

The study led by a team from the Texas A&M University School of Medicine showed that these substances of abuse can detrimentally affect people's cognitive flexibility -- the ability to adapt and switch between different tasks or strategies.  Although previous research has hinted at this connection, the underlying reasons for this cognitive impairment remain elusive.  Cognitive flexibility is a crucial element in various domains of our life, including academic achievement, employment success and transitioning into adulthood.  As we age, this flexibility plays an important role in mitigating cognitive decline. 

A deficiency in cognitive flexibility, however, is linked to academic deficits and a lower quality of life.  The research, published in the journal of Nature Communications, emphasises the role of the local inhibitory brain circuit in mediating the negative effects of substance use on cognitive flexibility.  Substance use influences a specific group of neurons called striatal direct-pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs), with projections to a part of the brain known as the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr).