Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Reinstatement of Drug-seeking in Mice Using the Conditioned Place Preference Paradigm
Published on: June 7, 2018
The effect of alcohol on the neuropsychological functioning of recently abstinent cocaine-dependent subjects
Danielle Abi-Saab1, John Beauvais, John Mehm
1Yale University School of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Department of Psychiatry, West Haven, Connecticut 06516, USA. danielle.abi-saab@yale.edu
Abstract:
Neuropsychological deficits in the areas of learning, memory, attention, and abstraction abilities have been associated with cocaine dependence, especially during the period of early abstinence. Although cocaine users tend to be multidrug users, few studies have focused on the combined effect of alcohol and cocaine on neuropsychological functioning. Consistent with prior research, results from the current study indicated that cocaine-dependent subjects showed a significantly greater degree of neuropsychological impairment as compared to controls. In addition, cocaine-dependent subjects with a history of alcohol disorder showed less memory impairment but similar impairments in attention and overall neuropsychological functioning as cocaine subjects with no such history. The vasodilatation produced by alcohol may attenuate some of the vasoconstriction and neurotoxic effects of cocaine, accounting for the fewer deficits in this group.
Related Concept Videos
Drug Dependence
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
CNS Stimulants: Cocaine, Amphetamines and Cannabinoids
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...

