Cognitive impairments and sleep disruption have been reported in patients withdrawing from cocaine. The nature of these disorders have yet to be documented in clinical laboratory studies. The present study evaluates cognitive information processing in subjects on a clinical ward withdrawing from cocaine with a battery of tasks (auditory rare event monitoring, two continuous performance tasks, four Sternburg memory tests). Sleep quality and duration is monitored by a subjective questionnaire. Fourteen subjects including controls have been tested in this study over a 6 to 8 week withdrawal period. Stimulus evaluation and memory deficits were observed in the cocaine addicts. Clarification of the nature of the cognitive deficits and of sleep loss will lead to more effective treatment strategies for cocaine withdrawal.
