Dissociation of self and mother-related processing in abstinent heroin misusers

Objective: Numerous studies have shown that stimuli associated with the self receive higher cognitive processing priority, known as the self-prioritization effect. Additionally, individuals with Eastern Asian cultural backgrounds often include their mother in their self-concept, resulting in a mother-prioritization effect. However, the impact of drug addiction on these prioritization effects remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate self- and mother-prioritization effects in Chinese abstinent heroin users (AHM). Methods: Study 1 employed a modified self matching task to investigate the matching level processing of self-relevant and mother-related information in individuals with heroin addiction. Study 2 integrated a self-referential task with a recognition task to replicate and extend the findings of Study 1 in the realm of memory. Study 3 further investigated the clinical significance of the impaired mother-prioritization effect. Results: Study 1 revealed that AHM exhibited a level of prioritization for self-related stimuli, albeit with a diminished mother-prioritization effect. Study 2 conceptually replicated these findings in the memory domain, revealing impaired mother-referential memory in AHM. Study 3 further demonstrated a positive correlation between the severity of drug addiction in AHM and the magnitude of the mother-prioritization effect. Conclusions: Individuals struggling with drug addiction demonstrated a robust self-prioritization effect but showed a reduced mother-prioritization effect. Importantly, this reduced mother-prioritization effect held clinical significance for addiction. These findings highlight a novel target for interventions aimed at strengthening associations between the self and salient stimuli. For instance, increasing concern for significant others could help mitigate the risk of relapse.