SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Addictive Disorders
This article is part of the Research TopicBeyond Abstinence: Harm Reduction and Its Impact on Addiction DisordersView all 3 articles
The association between chronic alcohol, cannabis, and opioids use and autobiographical memory impairments: A systematic review
Provisionally accepted
- University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
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Abstract Word count: 11 495 Introduction Evidence suggests an association between chronic psychoactive substance use and memory deterioration. Autobiographical memory (AM) is one form of long-term memory that is captured through specific personal information. Exploring potential causes of AM impairment is crucial as these memories shape identity and are important for problem solving and imagining the future. This is the first systematic review to primarily assess the association between chronic psychoactive substance use, including cannabis, alcohol, and opioids, and AM impairment. Additionally, associations between AM performance and secondary outcome measures encompassing mental health, severity and pattern of substance use, cognitive and emotional functions, Theory of Mind and Fading Affect Bias were also explored in this paper. Methods An extensive literature search was performed, and the results were screened. This resulted in twelve papers being qualitatively analysed. Results The narrative synthesis showed a strong association between the chronic use of different substances (e.g. alcohol, cannabis, opioids) and AM impairments. Those chronically using alcohol, cannabis, and opioids consistently retrieved less specific and more general AMs compared to controls. It could also be postulated that AM impairments may be related to executive dysfunctions caused by the daily consumption of psychoactive substances. However, direct causality cannot be inferred due to the cross-sectional design of the studies pooled for the current review. Summary Future research needs to expand further this association between chronic psychoactive substance use and AM impairments as this will be clinically relevant when considering realistic clinical management plans in this population.
Keywords: alcohol, autobiographical memory, Cannabis, chronic, Opioids, Psychoactive substance
Received: 28 Sep 2025; Accepted: 29 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Gibson, Hemmati, Conti, Dritschel and Baldacchino. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Alexander Mario Baldacchino
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