Wang Grace Y, Kydd Robert, Russell Bruce R
Department of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Acta Neurol Belg. 2015 Dec;115(4):539-46. doi: 10.1007/s13760-015-0476-2. Epub 2015 Apr 19.
Methadone has been used to treat opiate dependence since the mid-1960s. Despite its clinical effectiveness there is evidence from neuropsychological studies demonstrating that its long-term use might have negative effects on cognition. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain whether the observed cognitive impairments in patients undertaking methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) are solely attributable to the pharmacological effects of methadone, as suggested by some researchers. Determining the effects of MMT on neuropsychological function using electroencephalography (EEG) combined with event-related potentials (ERP) has been used infrequently. However EEG and ERP provide a means of closely examining information processing to determine whether MMT induces any deficits. The purpose of this review was to investigate whether psychophysiological evidence supports cognitive impairment in association with MMT by focusing on research using EEG and ERPs. The findings of EEG studies to date appear not support the notion that cognitive impairments are attributable to the specific pharmacological effects of methadone suggested by some neuropsychological studies. However, due to the methodological deficits and limited number of the studies, any conclusion based on the findings of the existing EEG studies should be avoided.
自20世纪60年代中期以来，美沙酮一直被用于治疗阿片类药物依赖。尽管其临床疗效显著，但神经心理学研究的证据表明，长期使用美沙酮可能会对认知产生负面影响。然而，正如一些研究人员所指出的，接受美沙酮维持治疗（MMT）的患者所观察到的认知障碍是否完全归因于美沙酮的药理作用，仍不确定。使用脑电图（EEG）结合事件相关电位（ERP）来确定MMT对神经心理功能的影响，这种做法并不常见。然而，EEG和ERP提供了一种密切检查信息处理过程的方法，以确定MMT是否会导致任何缺陷。这篇综述的目的是通过关注使用EEG和ERP的研究，来调查心理生理学证据是否支持与MMT相关的认知障碍。迄今为止，EEG研究的结果似乎并不支持认知障碍归因于一些神经心理学研究所表明的美沙酮特定药理作用这一观点。然而，由于研究方法存在缺陷且研究数量有限，应避免基于现有EEG研究结果得出任何结论。
