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Cited by 311Historical and Modern Theater StudiesSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Profile of Executive and Memory Function Associated with Amphetamine and Opiate Dependence

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Ersche, Karen D, Clark, Luke, London, Mervyn, Robbins, Trevor W, Sahakian, Barbara J·2006·Neuropsychopharmacology
DOI 10.1038/sj.npp.1300889PMC PMC1867318
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Abstract

Cognitive function was assessed in chronic drug users on neurocognitive measures of executive and memory function. Current amphetamine users were contrasted with current opiate users, and these two groups were compared with former users of these substances (abstinent for at least one year). Four groups of participants were recruited: amphetamine-dependent individuals, opiate-dependent individuals, former users of amphetamines, and/or opiates and healthy non-drug taking controls. Participants were administered the Tower of London (TOL) planning task and the 3D-IDED attentional set-shifting task to assess executive function, and Paired Associates Learning and Delayed Pattern Recognition Memory tasks to assess visual memory function. The three groups of substance users showed significant impairments on TOL planning, Pattern Recognition Memory and Paired Associates Learning. Current amphetamine users displayed a greater degree of impairment than current opiate users. Consistent with previous research showing that healthy men are performing better on visuo-spatial tests than women, our male controls remembered significantly more paired associates than their female counterparts. This relationship was reversed in drug users. While performance of female drug users was normal, male drug users showed significant impairment compared to both their female counterparts and male controls. There was no difference in performance between current and former drug users. Neither years of drug abuse nor years of drug abstinence were associated with performance. Chronic drug users display pronounced neuropsychological impairment in the domains of executive and memory function. Impairment persists after several years of drug abstinence and may reflect neuropathology in frontal and temporal cortices.

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  • Chronic administration and withdrawal of amphetamine and morphine have been shown to cause severe spatial recognition memory and executive impairment in rodents and humans.

    “Chronic administration and withdrawal of amphetamine and morphine have been shown to cause severe spatial recognition memory and executive impairment in rodents and humans (49–51).”

    From Effects of Lisdexamfetamine, a Prodrug of D-Amphetamine, on Locomotion, Spatial Cognitive Processing and Neurochemical Profiles in Rats: A Comparison With Immediate-Release Amphetamine (2022) · cites this paper as [50]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports marked spatial-planning, paired-associates-learning, and visual-pattern-recognition impairments in human amphetamine and opiate users, including former users. It does not establish that administration or withdrawal caused those impairments, test rodents, or demonstrate spatial recognition memory impairment specifically; the study concerns dependence on opiates rather than morphine specifically. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Ersche, K. D., Clark, L., London, M., Robbins, T. W., & Sahakian, B. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
  • Brookfields Hospital (GB)
Corresponding author
Sahakian, Barbara J
ORCID
Venue
Neuropsychopharmacology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2005-09-14
Volume
31
Issue
5
Pages
1036-1047
ISSN
  • 0893-133X (ISSN-L)
  • 1740-634X
DOI
10.1038/sj.npp.1300889
PMC
PMC1867318
OpenAlex
W2161014456
Cited by
311
References
12
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 25
FWCI
13.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Neuropsychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust (076244, 019407)
  • Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Historical and Modern Theater Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
amphetamine dependence, opioid use disorder, executive function, memory impairment, chronic drug users, drug abstinence, sex differences, visuospatial memory, paired-associate learning, pattern recognition memory, set-shifting, Tower of London, frontal cortex, temporal cortex, neuropsychological deficits
MeSH terms
Adult, Brain Damage, Chronic, Cognition Disorders, Female, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Learning Disabilities, Male, Memory Disorders, Opioid-Related Disorders, Neuropsychological Tests, Sex Characteristics, Space Perception, Temporal Lobe, Time, Amphetamine-Related Disorders

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