Self-deception as a mechanism for the maintenance of drug addiction

The Roles of Optogenetics and Technology in Neurobiology: A Review

Optogenetic is a technique that combines optics and genetics to control specific neurons. This technique usually uses adenoviruses that encode photosensitive protein. The adenovirus may concentrate in a specific neural region. By shining light on the target nerve region, the photosensitive protein encoded by the adenovirus is controlled. Photosensitive proteins controlled by light can selectively allow ions inside and outside the cell membrane to pass through, resulting in inhibition or activation effects. Due to the high precision and minimally invasive, optogenetics has achieved good results in many fields, especially in the field of neuron functions and neural circuits. Significant advances have also been made in the study of many clinical diseases. This review focuses on the research of optogenetics in the field of neurobiology. These include how to use optogenetics to control nerve cells, study neural circuits, and treat diseases by changing the state of neurons. We hoped that this review will give a comprehensive understanding of the progress of optogenetics in the field of neurobiology.

Lie detection accuracy and beliefs about cues to deception in adult children of alcoholics

When one or both parents misuse alcohol, it can lead to the development of particular and varied traits in their children. The present study tested whether adult children of alcoholics (ACoAs) who participated in therapy had better veracity assessment skills and more reliable beliefs about cues to deception than the control group of non-ACoAs. The results revealed that individuals who grew up in a family with alcohol misuse problems detected truth - but not lies - significantly better than the control group. The groups did not differ in accuracy of their beliefs about cues to deception. It is possible that the ACoAs' higher truth detection accuracy is to some extent attributable to their participation in therapy, which increased their level of trust in others.

Evaluation of self-deception: Factorial structure, reliability and validity of the SDQ-12 (self-deception questionnaire)

We all need to resort to deception, either with ourselves (denial, self-deception, mystification) or with others (with modalities, such as impression management, social desirability), to a greater or lesser extent. Lies, in their broader meaning, are interpreted as something rather adaptive, useful, and necessary in our socioaffective world. In particular, self-deception is a highly interesting psychological concept in the clinical population, namely, in drug dependents, as it serves as a mechanism for maintaining addiction. The objective of this study was to create and explore the validity and psychometric properties of a short self-deception scale (SDQ-12), derived from the IAM-40 and emphasizing the manipulation and mystification dimensions. Participants in this study included a group of drug dependents (alcoholics and drug abusers) under treatment (n = 417) as well as a group of adults from the general population (n = 124) (total N = 541), selected using simple random sampling. Across the sample, 63% of individuals were male, with a mean age of 38.65 years (S.D. = 10.61). Empirical exploration of the SDQ-12 items using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the instrument has a clear structure matching the theoretically relevant proposed dimensions of mystification and manipulation. Internal consistency was verified (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = .85), and confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the two-dimensional model provided an appropriate fit to the data. In addition, manipulation was greater in young male individuals, with significant differences found in mystification and manipulation between the general population and alcoholics and drug abusers. Our study supports the clinical and research importance of the SDQ-12 scale, due not only to its diagnostic efficacy but also to its novel nature, its importance, and its relevance. It could be particularly useful for evaluating the substantial components of self-deception in the addict population, thus guiding therapists in their diagnostic and interventional role.

The involuntary nature of binge drinking: goal directedness and awareness of intention

Binge drinking represents a public health issue and is a known risk factor in the development of alcohol use disorders. Previous studies have shown behavioural as well as neuroanatomical alterations associated with binge drinking. Here, we address the question of the automaticity or involuntary nature of the behaviour by assessing goal‐directed behaviour and intentionality. In this study, we used a computational two‐step task, designed to discern between model‐based/goal‐directed and model‐free/habitual behaviours, and the classic Libet clock task, to study intention awareness, in a sample of 31 severe binge drinkers (BD) and 35 matched healthy volunteers. We observed that BD had impaired goal‐directed behaviour in the two‐step task compared with healthy volunteers. In the Libet clock task, BD showed delayed intention awareness. Further, we demonstrated that alcohol use severity, as reflected by the alcohol use disorders identification test, correlated with decreased conscious awareness of volitional intention in BD, although it was unrelated to performance on the two‐step task. However, the time elapsed since the last drinking binge influenced the model‐free scores, with BD showing less habitual behaviour after longer abstinence. Our findings suggest that the implementation of goal‐directed strategies and the awareness of volitional intention are affected in current heavy alcohol users. However, the modulation of these impairments by alcohol use severity and abstinence suggests a state effect of alcohol use in these measures and that top‐down volitional control might be ameliorated with alcohol use cessation.