A comparative study of the effects of methamphetamine on memory in existing and recovering addicts from a South African population

Memory is a complex of systems by which an organism registers, stores and retrieves exposure toan event or experience. Literature purports that methamphetamine users and dependents havebeen found to exhibits signs of memory impairment. The aim of the research was to establishthe possible existence of significant differences in memory in current methamphetamine users,recovering methamphetamine users, and a matched drug na ve control group. Cognitivefunctioning was assessed via a neurocognitive test battery that examined the memory of14 current methamphetamine users, 17 recovering methamphetamine addicts, and 18 drugna ve control participants who were matched according to the demographic variables of age,gender and educational status. The results indicated that recovering methamphetamine usersexperienced the greatest impairment in memory in comparison to both the control group andcurrent users of methamphetamine. The current users of methamphetamine also experiencedsome impairment in memory functioning in visual acquisition and retention. The poorperformance of the recovering addicts is explained by the juxtaposition of the stimulatingand supplemental effect of methamphetamine as experienced by the current users versus theneurotransmitter depletion and structural changes in the brain experienced by the recoveringaddicts. The control group showed a superior performance since they did not suffer from theneurotoxic effects of methamphetamine.