STUDY: COKE USE LEADS TO BRAIN DAMAGE

Heavy use of cocaine impairs memory, manual dexterity and decision-making
for at least a month after the drug was last taken, according to researchers
at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

A study led by neurologist Karen Bolla of Johns Hopkins University adds to
the evidence that the powerful high experienced by cocaine users is
accompanied by long-lasting harm to brain functioning.

Researchers said their work suggests the brain damage caused by cocaine
might set up a devastating spiral by making it harder for the drug user to
quit That is because the damage caused by cocaine occurs in the brain's
prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for monitoring behavior and
inhibiting bad behavior.

The study, published in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical
Neuroscience, is written by Bolla, Jean Lud Cadet and Richard Rothman. They
recruited their 30 subjects, mostly smokers of crack, between 1993 and 1995
at the federal institute's clinical research unit on the Hopkins Bayview
campus in East Baltimore.

Their performance on a battery of tests was compared to that of a control
group of 21 people who had no history of drug use but matched the cocaine
users in age, education and IQ score.