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PSY 357 The Effect of Chronic Methamphetamine Use on Cognitive Function in Acutely Withdrawn Individuals
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Faculty:
Deborah L. Stote, Ph.D.
Contact:
stote@psy.utexas.edu
Description:
Goals of the Project: To compare the cognitive functioning of methamphetamine-dependent individuals with that of individuals dependent on other drugs of abuse and existing data from normal controls. We will be testing men and women (+ matched controls) who are in residential treatment for drug dependence using a battery of cognitive tasks that assess attention and information processing. A reliable result from neuroimaging studies of chronic METH users is a significant reduction in (DA) transporters in the striatum (Volkow et al., 2001). This condition persists for 6-9 months after cessation of drug use and produces measurable deficits in cognitive skills (Volkow et al., 2001). We are testing if there is a sex difference in this type of outcome, which hasn’t been assessed to date. We predict that women are resistant to the damaging effects of methamphetamine, and our goal is to measure sex differences using behavioral assessment and possibly neuroimaging (fMRI) at UT’s IRC.
Qualifications:
Interest in clinical neuroscience, basic computer skills.
Duties:
This student will be conducting behavioral assessments in clinic (Austin Recovery) under the supervision of DL Stote (licensed clinical psychologist). The student will also be learning to conduct fMRI and manage MR data at the Imaging Research Center under the supervision of the IRC scientists and staff. There is a $300 stipend available to the student to offset transportation and misc. costs.
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