MONDAY, March 10, 2003 (HealthDayNews) --
Problems with attention and motor skills persist a year after someone stops using cocaine and/or amphetamines, says a study in the March issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The Massachusetts General Hospital-led study included 50 pairs of male twins whose average age was 45.9. One of each pair of twins was a former heavy user of cocaine and/or amphetamines who had not used the drugs for at least a year before the start of the study.
All the twins were given a series of neuropsychological examinations to assess their attention, executive functioning, motor skills, intelligence and memory.
The twins who were former drug users performed significantly worse than their nonuser twins in the areas of motor skills and attention. However, the former drug users did much better on one test of attention that measured visual vigilance.
"Despite being abstinent for at least a year, abusers demonstrated neuropsychological impairments and selected advantages. These findings provide evidence of long-term residual effects of stimulant abuse," the study authors write.
More information
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