Memory Function and Substance Abuse
Memory function in individuals abusing
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Memory function in individuals abusing drugs and alcohol is impaired. The extent of the impairment is usually dependant on the extent of the abuse. Alcohol and marijuana are two common entry level drugs widely perceived to by fairly harmless. These two drugs have definite effects on the ability, of an individual using and abusing them, to form and retrieve memories. The impact of the drug can be direct, as in neurotoxic effects, or indirect, as the result of the drug's action on parts on the body other than the brain itself, or on the body's ability to utilize chemical transmitters needed for memory formation or retrieval. The action, of alcohol and marijuana on the brain's cognitive ability, encompasses both short-term, a few seconds, and long-term memory storage. Repeated alcohol abuse and alcoholism, can lead to the development of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome a debilitating and chronic condition of memory deficits. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is caused directly by a nutritional deficiency of thiamine. Alcohol abuse decreases the ability of the body to absorb and utilize thiamine for brain functions which is the cause of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Memory loss due to drug and alcohol use can be long or short term and is significant. Alcohol is a drug. The primary cause of the memory loss may be due to the direct neurotoxic effect of the drug. The memory loss may also be caused by secondary effects of the substance abuse. In most instances, a
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ual's last exposure to marijuana (Marijuana, 1990, p. 930). Individuals report that their memory problems are eliminated, after a period of four to six weeks (Schwartz, Gruenewald, Klitzner, & Fedio, 1989, p. 1214). The individual's perception of memory and cognitive impairment is still faulty at after six weeks of abstinence. Heavy marijuana usage causes selective short term memory deficits (Marijuana, 1990, p. 930). The memory deficits are compounded if the marijuana is combined with phencyclidine, or PCP (Schwartz, Gruenewald, Klitzner, & Fedio, 1989, p. 1215). The potency of the marijuana being used has an affect on the amount of THC absorbed, by the individual, at each usage. The amount of THC in marijuana has increased from approximately one and on-half a percent in 1980 to an average of approximately seven percent in some preparations by the late 1980s (Schwartz, Gruenewald, Klitzner, & Fedio, 1989, p. 1216). This means that a single joint has a significantly greater impact, on memory function, now than in past decades.
A second drug which enjoys legal status, at least for a part of the population, is alcohol. The recent spate of studies, on the impact of alcohol on memory, has yielded information on how the br
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Approximate Word count = 1637
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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Memory function in individuals abusing
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