Neuropsychological deficits in chronic cocaine abusers

A basic neuropsychological assessment battery was given to thirty-seven chronic freebase cocaine ("crack") abusers. The following tests were used: Wechsler Memory Scale (Wechsler, 1945), Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (Osterrieth, 1944) (copy and immediate reproduction), Verbal Fluency (semantic and phonologic), Boston Naming Test (Goodglass, Kaplan, & Weintrab, 1983), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Heaton, 1981) and Digit-symbol from the WISC (Wechsler, 1974). In general, performance was lower than expected according to their age and educational level. Subjects showed significant impairment in short-term verbal memory and attention subtests. Neuropsychological test scores were correlated with lifetime amount of cocaine used, suggesting a direct relationship between cocaine abuse and cognitive impairment. A pattern of cognitive decline is proposed.