Keynotes

• Patients on opioid therapy for chronic pain have both short-term and long-term memory impairments.

• Fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) overdose can lead to Opioid-associated Amnesiac Syndrome (OAS).

• High doses of fentanyl damage the subiculum, amygdala, and hippocampus possibly due to excitotoxic effects causing hyper metabolism in conjunctions with ischemia.

• Patients on opioid therapy for chronic pain take longer for processing information and exhibit increased impulsivity.

• Infants with Neonatal abstinence syndrome (intrauterine exposure to opioids during pregnancy) more likely to have educational disabilities.

• Even subclinical exposure of opioids to infants increases the risk for behavioral or developmental disorders.