Cognitive‐Disrupting Effects of Cocaine as an Effect of Menstrual Cycle Phase

Abstract

Cocaine exposure is associated with reduced dopamine (DA) function that presents as behavioral and cognitive dysregulation. In both human and animal studies, cocaine use is linked to poor cognitive performance in cognitive tasks involving behavioral flexibility. Additionally, fluctuating estrogen levels across the menstrual cycle affect DA levels and influence cognitive performance. The current study examined cognitive performance using a 3‐stimulus visual discrimination and reversal task in cocaine‐naïve female cynomolgus macaques (n=3) and monkeys with a cocaine self‐administration (SA) history (n=4). Monkeys with a history of cocaine SA required a greater number of sessions to learn the reversal task compared to cocaine‐naïve monkeys. Preliminary data suggest that noncontingent cocaine administration prior to cognitive testing increased the number of trials needed to learn both visual discrimination and reversal tasks. In ongoing studies, cocaine is being administered during the follicular (days 5–10) and luteal (days 18–24) phases of the menstrual cycle. These data will extend our understanding of the cognitive‐disrupting effects of cocaine in females as an effect of menstrual cycle phase and cocaine SA history and may provide sex‐specific treatment strategies for cocaine dependence. Support: DA 29178, DA 007246