Background: Cannabis and opioid use are associated with cognitive impairment, whether preexisting or substance-induced, but there have been few substance-specific assessments of cognitive functioning in adolescent substance users. Working memory impairment may be particularly important, as it has been linked to poorer performance in substance abuse treatment.
Methods: Working memory (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV or Adult Intelligence Scale-IV) and baseline substance use were assessed in 42 youth (mean age = 17.9 years, SD = 1.3, range: 16-20; 65% Caucasian, 30% female) 1-2 weeks after admission to residential treatment with supervised abstinence, 19 for primary cannabis dependence and 23 for primary opioid dependence.
Results: There were substantial deficits in working memory in both groups, with significant differences (P < .001) between the opioid (M = 39.1th%ile, SD = 25.6) and cannabis (M = 16.3th%ile, SD = 13.6) groups. The primary opioid group had high rates of cannabis use, with no significant difference in past-month days of cannabis use from the primary cannabis group. The opioid group was older and had completed more years of formal education. Seventy-nine percent of the cannabis group had public health care coverage (mostly Medicaid), compared with 24% of the opioid sample.
Conclusions: Working memory impairment was substantial in treatment-seeking youth with primary cannabis and opioid dependence (the latter actually having comparable rates of cannabis use), and significantly more pronounced in the primary cannabis-dependent group. Without an assessment of working memory prior to substance exposure, the differential contributions of substance-induced vs. preexisting impairment are unclear. Lower scores in the cannabis group may reflect lower socioeconomic status (SES), which is typically correlated with cognitive performance. These findings highlight underrecognized cognitive impairment in youth with SUDs, especially inner-city cannabis-dependent youth. Modification of treatments to account for cognitive capacity and/or cognitive remediation interventions may be indicated to improve treatment outcomes.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2014.954027 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
A hybrid deep learning air pollution prediction approach based on neighborhood selection and spatio-temporal attention.
Sci Rep
January 2025
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100055, China.
Air pollution is a critical global environmental issue, further exacerbated by rapid industrialization and urbanization. Accurate prediction of air pollutant concentrations is essential for effective pollution prevention and control measures. The complex nature of pollutant data is influenced by fluctuating meteorological conditions, diverse pollution sources, and propagation processes, underscores the crucial importance of the spatial and temporal feature extraction for accurately predicting air pollutant concentrations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAge bias in changes in finger dexterity based on brain activation and spinal motor nerve excitability induced by motor imagery practice.
Neuroscience
January 2025
Kansai University of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy, 2-11-1 Wakaba Sennangun Kumatori, Osaka 590-0482, Japan; Graduate School of Kansai University of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Health Sciences, 2-11-1 Wakaba Sennangun Kumatori, Osaka 590-0482, Japan.
Elderly adults may have poorer recall ability than young adults and may not fully enjoy the effects of motor imagery. To understand the age bias of the effect of motor imagery on hand dexterity, we evaluated brain activation and spinal motor nerve excitability. Brain activation was evaluated from changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration, while spinal motor nerve excitability was evaluated from F-waves in eight young (mean age 21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBehavioral evidence that repetitive responses in a Free-Movement Pattern Y-maze are associated with ageing-related deficit in working memory.
Behav Processes
January 2025
Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey.
Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) is crucial for navigating complex environments and is known to decline with ageing. The Free-Movement Pattern (FMP) Y-maze, used in animal studies, provides a robust paradigm for assessing VSWM via analyses of individual differences in repeated alternating sequences of left (L) and right (R) responses (LRLR, etc.), the predominant search pattern in many species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterrupting sitting with moderate-intensity physical activity breaks improves cognitive processing speed in adults with overweight and obesity: Findings from the SITLess pilot randomized crossover trial.
Int J Psychophysiol
January 2025
Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, & Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address:
Introduction: Prolonged sitting can acutely reduce working memory (WM) in individuals with overweight and obesity (OW/OB) who show executive function deficits. Interrupting prolonged sitting with brief PA bouts may counter these effects. However, the benefits of such interventions on behavioral and neuroelectric indices of WM and whether neurocognitive responses are associated with postprandial glycemic responses in young and middle-aged adults with OW/OB remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProjection-targeted photopharmacology reveals distinct anxiolytic roles for presynaptic mGluR2 in prefrontal- and insula-amygdala synapses.
Neuron
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address:
Dissecting how membrane receptors regulate neural circuits is critical for deciphering principles of neuromodulation and mechanisms of drug action. Here, we use a battery of optical approaches to determine how presynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) controls anxiety-related behavior in mice. Using projection-specific photopharmacological activation, we find that mGluR2-mediated presynaptic inhibition of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)-BLA, but not posterior insular cortex (pIC)-BLA, connections produces a long-lasting decrease in spatial avoidance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!