The present study aimed to investigate possible changes in attentive focus and mental flexibility of drug-addicted subjects (G1, n = 20) compared to a control group that does not make use of psychoactive substances (G2, n = 20). Participants were assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and a Continuous Performance Test (CPT). The results suggest that G1 individuals showed significantly lower performance on the WCST and in most CPT indexes. Altogether, the performances observed suggest a deficit in cognitive flexibility and a condition of inattention shown by G1 individuals in comparison to G2. The findings are discussed in terms of possible implications for the treatment of drug addicts.
Drug addiction; attention; CPT; WCST; cognition
