Findings on Drug Abuse Reported by Researchers at Shaanxi Normal University (Social cognitive deficits and altered multi-brain dynamics during problem-solving in heroin abstainers: An fNIRS hyperscanning study).

This article focuses on research from Shaanxi Normal University in the People's Republic of China examining social cognitive impairments and their neural underpinnings in individuals with heroin use disorder (HUD) during problem-solving tasks. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, the study found that HUD pairs showed poorer problem-solving performance, reduced perspective-taking, and disrupted neural activity and interpersonal neural synchronization compared to healthy controls. These deficits were linked with emotional and sleep-related withdrawal symptoms, highlighting the social and neural challenges associated with prolonged heroin abstinence. The findings suggest potential targets for treatments aimed at restoring social functioning in drug addiction and related psychiatric disorders. [Extracted from the article]