Cognitive functioning and length of abstinence in polysubstance dependent men
Abstract
To date, there are few large-scale studies that have examined the relationship between duration of abstinence and cognitive functioning in polysubstance-dependent individuals. Existing large-scale studies of polysubstance abusers have reported only minimal recovery of cognitive functioning with abstinence [Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 35 (1978) 1063]. The goal of this study is to test whether length of abstinence (1 day and 14 months) is related to cognitive ability in a large cross-sectional sample of men recovering from dependence on at least two drugs (N = 207). A series of Poisson and linear regressions were run to test whether length of abstinence is associated with neuropsychological performance while controlling for demographic variables, raw Vocabulary score, drug use, and dependency. The primary finding is that increasing length of abstinence was not statistically associated with superior neuropsychological ability. This suggests that the abuse of multiple substances potentially produces long-lasting neuropsychological impairment with minimal recovery of functioning over a 1-year period.
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These impairments should improve over time and show at least a minimal recovery within one year.
“These impairments should improve over time and show at least a minimal recovery within one year (Medina et al., 2004; Salo et al., 2009).”
From Predictive coding in neuropsychiatric disorders: a systematic transdiagnostic review. (2025) · cites this paper as Medina et al., 2004
The Discussion reports no significant relationship between length of abstinence and cognitive performance in polysubstance-dependent men during the first year. It concludes that there may be minimal or no recovery in that period, contrary to the claimed expectation of at least minimal recovery. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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- Authors
- Medina, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Cincinnati (US)
- Corresponding author
- Medina, K
- Venue
- Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2004-03
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 245-258
- ISSN
- 0887-6177 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1998646669
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 5 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r29da009650-06)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K02AA000319, K02AA00319)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R29DA09650)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Historical and Modern Theater Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Keywords
- polysubstance dependence, cognitive function, neuropsychological performance, substance use disorders, men, addiction recovery
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attention, Cognition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Inhibition, Psychological, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychomotor Performance, Thinking, Time Factors, Substance-Related Disorders, Recovery of Function
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