Faculty Collaboration Database

Memory functioning in polysubstance dependent women. Drug Alcohol Depend 2006 Oct 01;84(3):248-55

Date

04/06/2006

Pubmed ID

16595165

DOI

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2006.02.009

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-33747835589 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   19 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The vast majority of studies on polysubstance abuse or dependence have utilized male participants; therefore, the specific neuropsychological effects of polysubstance dependence in women are relatively unknown. The goal of the present study is to examine the effects of polysubstance dependence on women's verbal and visual memory ability.

METHODS: Data were collected from 109 women (46 controls and 63 polysubstance dependence women who were similar in ethnic identification, education, age, and verbal ability). A series of multiple regressions were run to test whether group membership significantly predicted performance on the Benton Visual Retention Test and the California Verbal Learning Test after controlling for important demographic characteristics.

RESULTS: The primary results indicated that the polysubstance dependent women had significantly poorer verbal learning ability (ranging from p<.005 to .05) than the control group, while no differences were found in visual memory ability. Further, significant bivariate relationships were observed between frequency of alcohol and cocaine use and verbal learning, delayed recall, and recognition ability.

CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm that polysubstance dependence is associated with deficient encoding of verbal information. In addition, past year frequent use of alcohol and cocaine was associated with more severe deficits in delayed recall and recognition ability among polysubstance dependent women at the bivariate level.

Author List

Medina KL, Shear PK, Schafer J

Author

Krista Lisdahl PhD Assistant Professor in the Psychology department at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Depression
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Female
Humans
Incidence
Memory Disorders
Neuropsychological Tests
Prevalence
Severity of Illness Index
Substance-Related Disorders
Surveys and Questionnaires
Verbal Learning