Impaired ability to control behavior is specified in at least one of the DSM 5 criteria for substance use disorders [“persistent desire or unsuccessful effort to cut down or control (substance) use”; American Psychiatric Association, 2013]. Consistent with this, there is overwhelming evidence for increased disinhibition (or poor inhibitory control) in substance abusers, alongside elevations in other aspects of impulsivity [for a comprehensive review see (7)]. For example, alcohol-dependent patients perform worse on the Stop Signal task than healthy controls (8–10). Furthermore, different subtypes of alcoholism may show more pronounced disinhibition than others (10, 11). Elevated disinhibition is also seen in abusers of cocaine (12) and methamphetamine (13), and in cigarette smokers (14).
