Research about the impact of neuropsychological rehabilitation on cocaine/crack dependents

Abstract

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, before and after interventions. The hypothesis is that group A will present a pronounced improvement on the neuropsychological test compared to group B. (AU)