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. 2010 Jan 15;106(2-3):154-63.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.08.010. Epub 2009 Oct 7.

Methamphetamine use parameters do not predict neuropsychological impairment in currently abstinent dependent adults

Mariana Cherner  1 , Paola Suarez, Corinna Casey, Robert Deiss, Scott Letendre, Thomas Marcotte, Florin Vaida, J Hampton Atkinson, Igor Grant, Robert K Heaton; HNRC Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Methamphetamine use parameters do not predict neuropsychological impairment in currently abstinent dependent adults

Mariana Cherner et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Methamphetamine (meth) abuse is increasingly of public health concern and has been associated with neurocognitive dysfunction. Some previous studies have been hampered by background differences between meth users and comparison subjects, as well as unknown HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) status, which can also affect brain functioning. We compared the neurocognitive functioning of 54 meth dependent (METH+) study participants who had been abstinent for an average of 129 days, to that of 46 demographically comparable control subjects (METH-) with similar level of education and reading ability. All participants were free of HIV and HCV infection. The METH+ group exhibited higher rates of neuropsychological impairment in most areas tested. Among meth users, neuropsychologically normal (n=32) and impaired (n=22) subjects did not differ with respect to self-reported age at first use, total years of use, route of consumption, or length of abstinence. Those with motor impairment had significantly greater meth use in the past year, but impairment in cognitive domains was unrelated to meth exposure. The apparent lack of correspondence between substance use parameters and cognitive impairment suggests the need for further study of individual differences in vulnerability to the neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest. All other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Rates of neuropsychological impairment among methamphetamine dependent and control subjects based on blind clinical ratings from demographically adjusted test scores. Learn = Learning, Abstr = Abstraction/Executive functioning, Atten = Attention/Working, MemorySIP = Speed of Information Processing, Verbal = Verbal Fluency
Figure 2
Figure 2
Average grams of methamphetamine used in the previous 12 months according to global and domain-specific neuropsychological impairment (METH+ subjects only). Learn = Learning, Abstr = Abstraction/Executive functioning, Atten = Attention/Working Memory, SIP = Speed of Information Processing, Verbal = Verbal Fluency
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