Increasing evidence indicates that substance-dependent individuals (SDI) are impaired in executive control tasks relying on different systems within the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Three different functional systems have been described: the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) circuits. Dysfunction within each PFC system is associated with different behavioral, cognitive, and emotional abnormalities. Few studies have conducted an exhaustive examination of all these different factors in SDI. In this study, SDI (including alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine polysubstance users, n = 35) were compared with healthy controls (n = 36) on a series of behavioral (Frontal Systems Behaviour Scale, FrSBe), cognitive (N-back, Go-No Go, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Tasks), and emotional (International Affective Picture System, IAPS) tasks, each of which was thought to tax a different component of these PFC functional systems. SDI showed greater behavioral problems in the apathy, disinhibition, and executive dysfunction subscales of the FrSBe. Behavioral deficits were significantly associated with several real-life domains in which SDI typically have problems. SDI also showed poorer performance on cognitive tests of working memory, response inhibition and mental flexibility, and abnormal processing of affective images from the IAPS. Cognitive, behavioral, and emotional measures were moderately correlated.This study was conducted in the Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA (JINS, 2006, 12, 405–415.)

Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct central to several forms of psychopathology. Recently, Lynam, Smith, Whiteside, and Cyders (2006) Lynam, D. R. , Smith, G. T. , Whiteside, S. P. and Cyders, M. A. 2006. The UPPS–P: Assessing five personality pathways to impulsive behavior (Tech. Rep.), West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University. [Google Scholar] developed the UPPS–P scale, a multidimensional inventory that assesses 5 personality pathways contributing to impulsive behavior: negative urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, sensation seeking, and positive urgency. In this study, we aimed (a) to analyze the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the UPPS–P scale and (b) to explore the relationship between the different dimensions of the UPPS–P scale and conceptually related constructs including trait measures derived from different models of impulsive personality (the Gray's [1987] Gray, J. A. 1987. The neuropsychology of anxiety, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar] and Plutchik's [1984] Plutchik, R. 1984. “Emotions: A general psychoevolutionary theory”. In Approaches to emotion, Edited by: Scherer, K. R. and Ekman, P. 187–214. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [Google Scholar] models) and a state measure of cognitive impulsivity, the Delay-Discounting Test ( Kirby, Petry, & Bickel, 1999 Kirby, K. N. , Petry, N. M. and Bickel, W. K. 1999. Heroin addicts have higher discount rates for delayed rewards than non-drug-using controls. Journal of Experimental Psychology-General, 128: 78–87. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ). We administered the UPPS–P scale along with the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire ( Torrubia, Avila, Molto, & Caseras, 2001 Torrubia, R. , Avila, C. , Molto, J. and Caseras, X. 2001. The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ) as a measure of Gray's anxiety and impulsivity dimensions. Personality and Individual Differences, 31: 837–862. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ), the Plutchik Impulsivity Scale ( Plutchik & Van Praag, 1989 Plutchik, R. and Van Praag, H. 1989. The Measurement of Suicidality, Aggressivity and Impulsivity. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 13: S23–S34. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ), and the Delay-Discounting Test to a sample of 150 undergraduate students. Results showed that the Spanish adaptation of the UPPS–P scale have appropriate psychometric properties. Different dimensions of the UPPS–P were differentially associated with predicted conceptually related constructs. We conclude that the Spanish adaptation of the UPPS–P scale is a useful instrument for fine-grained assessment of impulsivity in Spanish-speaking adult population.