Document 0114
 DOCN  M9550114
 TI    High false alarm rates on a vigilance task may indicate recreational
       drug use.
 DT    9505
 AU    Damos DL; Parker ES; Institute of Safety and Systems Management,
       University of; Southern California 90089-0021.
 SO    J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1994 Oct;16(5):713-22. Unique Identifier :
       AIDSLINE MED/95138234
 AB    Neuropsychologists need more sensitive methods to detect and measure
       recreational drug use in both research and clinical settings. In a study
       comparing the sensitivity of information processing tasks and
       neuropsychological instruments to detect early HIV-related cognitive
       decrements, 18 of 129 subjects tested positive for recreational drugs.
       Sixteen of these 18 subjects had elevated false alarm rates on one of
       the information processing tasks, the vigilance task. Another 45
       subjects who tested negative for recreational drugs also had elevated
       false alarm rates. Neuropsychological measures of premorbid functioning,
       attention, speed of information processing, and manual dexterity were
       lower in the high false alarm subjects than in the remaining 66
       drug-negative, low false alarm subjects. These results suggest that a
       high false alarm rate may reflect long-standing cognitive disturbances
       and the effects of drug use. The vigilance task may be a sensitive and
       efficient screening tool for recreational drug use.
 DE    Adult  Affect/DRUG EFFECTS  Alcoholism/DIAGNOSIS/PSYCHOLOGY
       Attention/*DRUG EFFECTS  AIDS Dementia Complex/DIAGNOSIS/PSYCHOLOGY
       Human  HIV Seropositivity/DIAGNOSIS/PSYCHOLOGY  Intelligence Tests  Male
       Middle Age  *Neuropsychological Tests  Psychomotor Performance/*DRUG
       EFFECTS  *Psychotropic Drugs  Reaction Time/*DRUG EFFECTS  Recall/DRUG
       EFFECTS  *Street Drugs  Substance Abuse/DIAGNOSIS/*PSYCHOLOGY  Substance
       Abuse Detection  Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).