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Cocaine-induced cerebrovascular impairment: Challenges to neuropsychological assessment

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Abstract

The patient who presents for evaluation and/or subsequent treatment of a neurological or psychiatric complaint accompanied by a positive history of substance abuse has generally received only modest attention in the clinical practice literature. Significantly more clinical attention has focused on the neurobehavioral sequelae of more pronounced brain insults, despite the rapid emergence of literature detailing psychopharmacologic-induced changes in brain-behavior functioning. This article describes recent clinical research findings related to the neuropsychology of cocaine use and associated issues of neurobiology and psychopharmacology. A description of strategies that have proven effective for assessing this population will be discussed. An emphasis on neurocognitive impairment that may precede as well as occur consequent to cocaine use are also examined. The literature reviewed here generally supports the conclusion that subgroups of cocaine abusing patients may demonstrate sustained brain perfusion anomalies and persistent neurocognitive deficits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, 1720 East 120th Street, 90059, Los Angeles, California

    Tony L. Strickland & Richard Stein

  2. Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

    Tony L. Strickland

  3. Research Center on the Psychobiology of Ethnicity, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

    Tony L. Strickland

  4. Neurology Research Group, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

    Tony L. Strickland

Authors
  1. Tony L. Strickland
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  2. Richard Stein
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Strickland, T.L., Stein, R. Cocaine-induced cerebrovascular impairment: Challenges to neuropsychological assessment. Neuropsychol Rev 5, 69–79 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02214930

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