Differential modulation of attentional ERPs in smoked and insufflated cocaine-dependent associated with neuropsychological performance

BackgroundCocaine consumption is associated with reduced attentional event-related potentials (ERPs), namely P3a and P3b, indicating bottom-up and top-down deficits respectively. At cognitive level, these impairments are larger for faster routes of administration (e.g., smoked cocaine [SC]) than slower routes (e.g., insufflated cocaine [IC]). Here we assess these ERPs considering the route of cocaine administration. We hypothesized that SC dependent (SCD) would exhibit reduced modulation of the P3a, while both SCD and IC dependent (ICD) would show reduced modulation of the P3b. MethodsWe examined 25 SCD, 22 ICD matched by poly-consumption profiles, and 25 controls matched by demographic variables. We combined EEG data from the Global-Local task with behavioral data from attentional cognitive tasks. ResultsAt the behavioral level, SCD exhibited attentional deficits in both bottom-up and top-down processes, while ICD only showed a tendency for top-down deficits. Modulation of P3a and P3b was lower in consumer groups. We observed subtle route-based differences, with larger differences in the P3a for SCD and in the P3b for ICD. Neurophysiological and behavioral data converged, with the P3a associated to bottom-up performance and P3b to top-down. ConclusionsDifferent routes of administration lead to distinct modulations of attentional neurocognitive profiles. Specifically, SCD showed greater attentional impairment, mainly at bottom-up/P3a, while ICD showed a trend of top-down/P3b deficits. These findings emphasize the crucial role of considering the route of administration in both clinical and research settings and support the use of attentional ERPs as valid measures for assessing attentional deficits in substance abuse.