Neuropsychological Rehabilitation on Cocaine/Crack Dependents

Summary

Cocaine/Crack Dependence has been associated with neuropsychological impairments mainly in executive functions and decision-making, which are predominantly managed by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the brain. However, none study in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (NR) has been done in order to remediate the executive functioning in this population. The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of neuropsychological intervention based on the stimulation of cognitive functions such as attention, planning, organization, logical reasoning, executive functioning, and decision making. For this research it will be proposed interventions through motivational strategies and board games, especially chess because it has been associated with PFC functioning, since it is a game which requires complex cognitive abilities, such as: inhibitory control, mental flexibility, sustained attention, future planning and decision-making. There will be two groups of patients with cocaine/crack dependence (n = 56), one with NR (group A, n = 28) and another without NR (group B, n = 28). Group B will be submitted to the placebo intervention. Both groups will be submitted to an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests and psychopathological rating scales before and after interventions. A sub-group will also be submitted to functional magnetic resonance imaging and biomarkers measures (BDNF and cortisol). The hypothesis is that group A will present a pronounced improvement not only on the neuropsychological test but also on the PFC functioning in neuropsychological functions compared to group B.

Conditions

• Cocaine Dependence

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Motivational Chess

The Motivational Chess (MC) combines Motivational Interviewing with chess game. Volunteers are submitted to 10 sessions of 90 minutes, over three weeks (total 15 hours: 10 hours of chess practice and 5 hours of motivational interviewing). The Active Control (AC) group consists of ten structured activities using cardboard, paper, crayons, among others. Volunteers are submitted to 10 sessions of 90 minutes, over three weeks (total 15 hours: 10 hours of recreational activities and 5 hours of information about basic cognitive functions).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Arthur G de Andrade, M.D., Ph.D · Program of the Interdisciplinary Group of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (GREA), School of Medicine, Institute and Department of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo - USP)

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-04-30

Primary Completion

2017-04-30

Completion

2017-10-31

Countries

• Brazil

Study Locations