Cocaine users differ from normals on cognitive tasks which show poorer performance during drug abstinence.
Seventeen non-treatment seeking cocaine-dependent individuals participated in three-week longitudinal inpatient studies of cognitive changes during drug use and abstinence. Protocols included three days drug-free baseline, three days cocaine self-administration, and two weeks complete abstinence. A repeatable cognitive battery showed attention and delayed verbal recognition memory but not working memory to be impaired in cocaine users compared to age- and sex-matched normative values. Attention was significantly poorer during the first and second week of abstinence compared to days on which cocaine was used suggesting that certain cocaine-induced impairments may be acutely normalized by cocaine use, but resurface during abstinence.
Pace-Schott
Edward F
EF
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Center for Sleep and Cognition, Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. epacesch@bidmc.harvard.edu
Morgan
Peter T
PT
Malison
Robert T
RT
Hart
Carl L
CL
Edgar
Chris
C
Walker
Matthew
M
Stickgold
Robert
R
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003237:Connecticut / Q000453:epidemiology; D016578:Crack Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012646:Self Administration; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*
D016578:Crack Cocaine