Crack-cocaine dependence and aging: effects on working memory

• Published in: Revista brasileira de psiquiatria 2016-03, Vol.38 (1), p.58-60
• Main Authors: Sanvicente-Vieira, Breno, Kommers-Molina, Júlia, De Nardi, Tatiana, Francke, Ingrid, Grassi-Oliveira, Rodrigo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; aging; Aging - physiology; Brief Communication; Case-Control Studies; Cocaine-Related Disorders - psychology; cognition; crack cocaine; Crack Cocaine - pharmacology; Female; Humans; Memory, Short-Term - drug effects; Neuropsychological Tests; PSYCHIATRY; substance use-related disorders; Working memory; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1516-4446; 1809-452X; 1809-452X; 1516-4446
• DOI: 10.1590/1516-4446-2015-1708

To compare the working memory (WM) performance of young adult crack-cocaine dependent users, healthy older adults, and a control group of healthy young adults. A total of 77 female participants took part in this study: 26 young adult crack-cocaine dependent users (CRK), 19 healthy older adults (HO), and 32 healthy younger adults (HC). All participants completed the N-back verbal task. A multivariate analysis of covariance was performed. The model included education, income, and medication use as covariates. A group effect (F6,140 = 7.192, p < 0.001) was found. Post-hoc analyses showed that the performance of the CRK and HO groups was reduced compared to the HC group in two N-back conditions. No differences between the HO and CRK groups on WM performance were found. CRK participants perform similar to HO participants on a WM task, despite the well-known effects of age on WM and the young age of CRK. These data point to a possible parallel between cognitive declines associated with crack use and developmental aging.