Desempeño cognitivo en usuarios y no usuarios de metanfetaminas en abstinencia temprana y prolongada

Introduction: methamphetamine use decreases general cognitive performance; however, evidence of this is heterogeneous and limited in the Mexican population. Objective: to determine the difference between the time period of methamphetamine abstinence and cognitive performance in Mexican drug users and non-users, and to identify the relationship between users in early and prolonged stages of abstinence. Method: comparative correlational research. It was composed of 34 male participants aged between 17 and 57 years old; 25 are patients with methamphetamine use disorder in an abstinence period and they are from a rehabilitation center (1 to 180 days: n = 17; 180 or more days n = 8) who were compared with healthy non-using controls (n = 9). A battery of neuropsychological tests was applied to measure cognitive performance (mental flexibility, inhibitory control and working memory). Data were analyzed with the STATISTICA 7 statistical program. Results: The findings suggest significant differences in cognitive performance between methamphetamine withdrawal users and non-users, particularly in cognitive inhibitory control and working memory. On the one hand, similar cognitive functioning was found among patients with different withdrawal times. Although, in comparison with the non-consuming group, cognitive performance was found to be worse for the early abstinence group, but not for the prolonged abstinence group. Consumption history was correlated with cognitive alterations in working memory and mental flexibility. Discussion and conclusions: methamphetamine use has implications on inhibitory control and working memory performance in early abstinence.