Chunk #46 — SUD Prevalence and qEEG Changes — qEEG in Substance Use Disorders — P300 Abnormalities in Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Heroin Addiction, and Alcoholism
A robust finding in ERP studies on alcoholism is that alcoholics as well as individuals at high risk to develop alcoholism have been shown to have a low P300 amplitude in various task paradigms (Cohen et al. 2002; Hada et al. 2000; Porjesz et al. 2005; Porjesz and Begleiter 1998). Kouri et al. (1996) examined the P300 component in patients who were dually dependent on cocaine and heroin. The results showed no P300 amplitude differences between the patients and healthy non-drug-dependent volunteers when patients presented for detoxification. However, after the course of detoxification, the P300 amplitude was significantly smaller in the cocaine- and heroin-dependent group than in the non-dependent control group. In a study by Bauer (2001b) the P300 did not differentiate among patients characterized by histories of either cocaine, or cocaine and alcohol, or heroin dependence. Across all the patient groups, the P300 was significantly reduced in amplitude relative to the P300 ERPs recorded from individuals with no history of alcohol or drug dependence. This study also demonstrated that continued abstinence from heroin and from cocaine and alcohol is
