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Effects of sex and HIV serostatus on spatial navigational learning and memory among cocaine users

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Abstract

Spatial learning and memory are critically dependent on the integrity of hippocampal systems. Functional MRI and neuropathological studies show that hippocampal circuitry is prominently affected among HIV-seropositive individuals, but potential spatial learning and memory deficits have not been studied in detail in this population. We investigated the independent and interactive effects of sex and HIV serostatus on performance of a spatial learning and memory task in a sample of 181 individuals with a history of cocaine dependence. We found that men showed faster times to completion on immediate recall trials compared with women and that delayed recall was significantly poorer among HIV-infected compared with HIV-uninfected participants. Additionally, a sex × serostatus effect was found on the total number of completed learning trials. Specifically, HIV-infected men successfully completed more learning trials compared with HIV-infected women. Results are discussed in the context of recent reports of sex and HIV serostatus effects on episodic memory performance.

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Notes

  1. Data from 15 individuals on opioid substitution therapy were inadvertently included in the analyses. Follow-up sensitivity analyses were conducted removing those individuals on opioid substitution therapy to ensure that the present findings were not due to those select subjects, and since the findings did not change, those individuals were included in the final sample.

  2. Participants who tested positive for cannabis were not excluded if testing was negative for all other substances. The presence of THC metabolites in the urine did not necessarily indicate cannabis use within 1–2 days prior to testing due to its much longer half-life.

  3. Ten participants (5% of total sample) were unable or refused to complete the MI task due to difficulty in handling the joystick or understanding task instructions and were not included in the final total of 181 participants.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by HHS R01 DA12828 to Eileen Martin. We are grateful to Jacob Raber for generously providing the Memory Island task and Chrissy Franco, Stan Chen, Haley Sullins, and Leslie Ladd for data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    J. Fogel, P. Maki & M. K. Keutmann

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    L. H. Rubin & P. Maki

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Rush University Medical Center, 1645 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 600, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

    M. K. Keutmann & E. M. Martin

  4. Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    R. Gonzalez

  5. Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    J. Vassileva

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  1. J. Fogel
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All authors contributed scientifically to the manuscript and have read and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to E. M. Martin.

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Written informed consent was obtained upon arrival at the first study visit.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Fogel, J., Rubin, L.H., Maki, P. et al. Effects of sex and HIV serostatus on spatial navigational learning and memory among cocaine users. J. Neurovirol. 23, 855–863 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-017-0563-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-017-0563-7

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