Delayed nonmatch-to-sample performance in HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative polydrug abusers.
Working memory (WM) deficits are common in HIV-seropositive (HIV+) individuals and can be amplified by manipulating a variety of task parameters, such as increasing memory load or information complexity. The authors investigated the role of timing in HIV-associated WM defects by varying the amount of time required to maintain information online while holding memory load and information complexity constant. The authors studied 50 HIV+ and 35 HIV-seronegative (HIV-) polydrug abusers abstinent at testing and well-matched on demographic variables. The HIV- group outperformed the HIV+ group across all stimulus-response time delays. HIV-associated WM defects are not critically dependent on the amount of time stimulus representations must be maintained and might be attributed to impaired encoding or retrieval of stimulus representations.
Martin
Eileen M
EM
Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago Veterans Health Care System-West Side Division, 60612, USA. EMMartin@uic.edu
Pitrak
David L
DL
Rains
Niles
N
Grbesic
Silvana
S
Pursell
Kenneth
K
Nunnally
Gerald
G
Bechara
Antoine
A
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018023:HIV Seronegativity / Q000502:physiology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*