Evaluation of the Neurocognitive and Emotional Functions in Addicts Treated with Methadone and Buprenorphine

Cognitive and emotional factors play a crucial role in addiction treatment. The aims of this study was to evaluate cognitive emotional regulation and neurocognitive functioning in addicts treated with methadone and buprenorphine.
The current study was a cross-sectional and causal-comparative study. Statistical population of this research include all men of maintenance substance treatment. The population evaluated in this study consisted of 50 patients treated with methadone and 50 patients treated with buprenorphine in Mashhad Addiction Recovery Center during 2016. The Barkley deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS) and Garnofsky's Emotion Regulation Scale were evaluated for all individuals. Data analysis was performed using descriptive indicators and independent t-test.
The results showed that the mean score in the cognitive emotion regulation scale of the buprenorphine-treated group were higher than the methadone-treated group. In contrast, the methadone-treated group received a significant higher score in BDEFS test compared to the buprenorphine group.
Although both methadone and buprenorphine lead to a reduction in neurocognitive functioning and emotion regulation, buprenorphine seems to be a better drug to preserve cognitive function during treatment of addiction.