Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:397-401
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Intellectual and neuropsychological functions in young men with heavy and long-term patterns of drug abuse
P Bruhn and N Maage
The authors attempted to determine the long-term effects of heavy drug
abuse in 87 male prisoners. The sample was divided into the following
groups: 1) nondrug users; 2) users of cannabis and hallucinogens; 3) users
of cannabis, hallucinogens, and amphetamines; and 4) users of cannabis,
hallucinogens, amphetamines, and opiates. Intellectual and
neuropsychological tests sensitive to brain dysfunction revealed no
intergroup differences. This finding casts some doubt on other reports
suggesting that long-term drug abuse results in neuropsychological
disorders. However, the authors caution that one should not conclude that
no organic changes occurred in their sample.
