Open AccessCognitive inflexibility in a young woman with pyromania
Author(s) -
Austin W. Blum,
Brian L. Odlaug,
Jon E. Grant
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of behavioral addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.265
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 2063-5303
pISSN - 2062-5871
DOI - 10.1556/2006.7.2018.09
Subject(s) - psychology , neurocognitive , psychosocial , cognition , cognitive flexibility , perspective (graphical) , clinical psychology , flexibility (engineering) , developmental psychology , psychiatry , statistics , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science
Background Pyromania is a rare disorder that is characterized by multiple episodes of deliberate and purposeful fire-setting. It is typically associated with significant psychosocial dysfunction and legal problems. Even so, little research has examined cognitive aspects of the disorder. Case presentation/study In this study, we compared a 24-year-old woman with pyromania with 19 age- and gender-matched healthy controls using a battery of computerized neurocognitive tasks. Our participant affected by pyromania showed impaired cognitive flexibility but intact functioning on measures of impulsive action and decision-making. Discussion Although pyromania shares phenomenological similarities with other urge-driven disorders, our results suggest that pyromania may have features of compulsivity as well. Conclusions Pyromania is relatively understudied from a neurobiological perspective. Further research is needed to understand the pathophysiology, classification, and treatment of pyromania.