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Cognitive Efficiency in Alcoholics and Polysubstance Abusers
Author(s) -
Nixon Sara Jo,
Paul Robert,
Phillips Mary
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1998.tb03929.x
Subject(s) - polysubstance dependence , cognition , psychology , clinical psychology , cognitive psychology , psychiatry , substance use
Previous studies have found alcoholics to be impaired on tests of cognitive efficiency. However, it is unclear to what extent individuals who abuse drugs in addition to alcohol exhibit similar deficits. To answer this question, 63 healthy control subjects were compared with 40 individuals who abused alcohol only, 24 individuals who abused alcohol and stimulants, 16 individuals who abused alcohol and marijuana, and 41 individuals who abused alcohol and depres‐sants/narcotics, or alcohol and two or more other drugs. All subjects were administered tests of Short‐term memory, spatial orientation, visual‐spatial perception, and problem‐solving. Results from the study indicated that control subjects and individuals who abused both alcohol and marijuana performed significantly better than the other groups on most tests. These results were not attributable to differences on measures of affect or chronicity of alcohol consumption.