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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

A Protocol for Measuring Cue Reactivity in a Rat Model of Cocaine Use Disorder
Published on: June 18, 2018
Cognitive performance by humans during a smoked cocaine binge-abstinence cycle
Edward F Pace-Schott1, Robert Stickgold, Amir Muzur
1Center for Sleep and Cognition, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. epacesch@bidmc.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Five cocaine-dependent individuals completed a 22-day inpatient study of sleep and cognition. Following 3 days of drug-free baseline, participants underwent 3 days of twice-daily smoked cocaine base self-administration (6 50-mg doses, 14 minutes apart), followed by 15 days of abstinence. Each morning and afternoon, the CDR repeatable, multiple-version, computerized cognitive battery (whose stability following practice has been documented) was administered. During abstinence, performance deteriorated on vigilance tasks (especially reaction time) as well as on immediate and delayed verbal recognition tasks but not on working memory tasks. Declines were most evident in the afternoon. Data suggest that abstinence can unmask cognitive deficits induced by chronic cocaine use and circadian factors may mediate their severity.
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