B-14 Differences in Performance of Memory Tasks in HIV + Cocaine and Methamphetamine Users

Abstract

Abstract Objective Approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. are infected with HIV (HIV+), many of whom use stimulants. Recent meta-analytical work supports differing neurocognitive profiles associated with methamphetamine and cocaine use in seronegative individuals, especially in the domain of memory. Both substances are associated with deficits in verbal working memory, while only methamphetamine is associated with deficits in delayed contextual verbal memory and delayed visual memory. This study serves to replicate these findings amongst an HIV+ sample. Methods The performance of 88 HIV+ cocaine users and 49 HIV+ methamphetamine users were compared on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test–Revised and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test–Revised. Participants were actively enrolled in National Neurological AIDS Bank and over the age of 18. Chi-square and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to compare group equivalence. Groups differed on gender and race but not on age, virologic variables, or education. ANOVA and Independent T-tests were used to compare performance. Results Both groups exhibited deficits on visual, verbal, and delayed verbal memory tasks but differences between the two groups were not significant (p>.05). Methamphetamine users performed significantly worse than cocaine users on the delayed visual memory task (F (1,131) = 9.27, p = .003, η² = .066). Conclusions Consistent with findings in seronegative individuals, HIV+ methamphetamine users performed more poorly than cocaine users on tasks involving delayed visual memory. However, this study did not replicate findings involving delayed verbal memory. Further work is necessary to understand the impact of methamphetamine and cocaine use in HIV+ individuals.