that although cocaine dependant individuals have decreased ability for stimulus-response learning, their ability to make basic associations remains intact (Vadhan, 2014). As previously mentioned, cocaine gives the user a feeling of euphoria through the increased release and decreased reuptake of the dopamine neurotransmitter within the synaptic gap, especially in the nucleus accumbens (Volkow, 1997). Over time, the repetitive influx of dopamine molecules can have detrimental effects on dependant individual, including depression (Hart, 2012). A study performed by Valklow and colleagues uses Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging to view the brain’s response to a dopamine influx in both participants that have been previously cocaine dependant
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Acute cocaine use, classified as the occasional recreational use can also create deficits in its users. One particular study compared the cognitive abilities of 17 recreational cocaine users, who have intranasally self-administered cocaine in the past year, but less than 10 times in the past month, and 24 non-drug using controls (Soar, 2012). Every participant provided information about their personal history including their levels of education as well as demographic information so that the researchers could control for possible third variables (Soar, 2012). They were examined for frequency of drug use using the University of East London questionnaire, their cocaine dependency level using the Severity Dependence Scale questionnaire, as well as other questionnaires to examine their overall physical health and personality (Soar, 2012). Both the acute cocaine users and control group were then examined using multiple neuropsychological assessment batteries in order to measure their level of cognitive ability; the results of the two groups were then compared using statistical analysis (Soar, 2012). The group that recreationally used cocaine showed deficits in areas such as spatial working memory, attention shifting, sustained attention and rule acquisition (Soar, 2012). It is suggested that these deficits are due to cocaine use that causes …show more content…
68 non-drug using controls were compared to 68 recreational cocaine users and 30 cocaine addicts; all participants were tested for levels of impulsivity and the manner in which they interact with others. The participants were examined while playing both a Distribution Game and a Dictator Game, both give the participant the power to either play fair or advantage themselves over the other player using points (Hulka, 2014). The researchers controlled for all participants pre-drug use abilities and the use of other drugs that may affected their performance during the assessments. The study concluded that both the recreational and dependant cocaine users displayed a deficit in social fairness tasks in comparison to the non-drug using control group; both cocaine using groups were more apt to weigh the game in their advantage, and therefore showed that they care more about their own gains than being fair with others (Hulka, 2014). Despite the similarity between the recreational cocaine using group and the cocaine dependant group, cocaine dependant participants seemed displayed increased impulsivity throughout the tasks (Hulka, 2014). This may have resulted from damage to the prefrontal cortex that is shown in both cocaine dependent and recreational cocaine users caused by a dopaminergic irregularity. The prefrontal cortex is
Acute cocaine use, classified as the occasional recreational use can also create deficits in its users. One particular study compared the cognitive abilities of 17 recreational cocaine users, who have intranasally self-administered cocaine in the past year, but less than 10 times in the past month, and 24 non-drug using controls (Soar, 2012). Every participant provided information about their personal history including their levels of education as well as demographic information so that the researchers could control for possible third variables (Soar, 2012). They were examined for frequency of drug use using the University of East London questionnaire, their cocaine dependency level using the Severity Dependence Scale questionnaire, as well as other questionnaires to examine their overall physical health and personality (Soar, 2012). Both the acute cocaine users and control group were then examined using multiple neuropsychological assessment batteries in order to measure their level of cognitive ability; the results of the two groups were then compared using statistical analysis (Soar, 2012). The group that recreationally used cocaine showed deficits in areas such as spatial working memory, attention shifting, sustained attention and rule acquisition (Soar, 2012). It is suggested that these deficits are due to cocaine use that causes …show more content…
68 non-drug using controls were compared to 68 recreational cocaine users and 30 cocaine addicts; all participants were tested for levels of impulsivity and the manner in which they interact with others. The participants were examined while playing both a Distribution Game and a Dictator Game, both give the participant the power to either play fair or advantage themselves over the other player using points (Hulka, 2014). The researchers controlled for all participants pre-drug use abilities and the use of other drugs that may affected their performance during the assessments. The study concluded that both the recreational and dependant cocaine users displayed a deficit in social fairness tasks in comparison to the non-drug using control group; both cocaine using groups were more apt to weigh the game in their advantage, and therefore showed that they care more about their own gains than being fair with others (Hulka, 2014). Despite the similarity between the recreational cocaine using group and the cocaine dependant group, cocaine dependant participants seemed displayed increased impulsivity throughout the tasks (Hulka, 2014). This may have resulted from damage to the prefrontal cortex that is shown in both cocaine dependent and recreational cocaine users caused by a dopaminergic irregularity. The prefrontal cortex is