The dual nature of working memory deficits: methamphetamine abusers have more impaired social working memory capacity than canonical working memory capacity

Shouxin Li, Shengyuan Wang, Huichao Ji, Na Tian, Luzi Xu, Wei Chen, Xiaowei Ding*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Social working memory (WM) temporarily retains and manipulates various aspects of social information. Extensive research has highlighted impaired social cognitive functions in individuals with substance addiction. However, the specific deficit in social WM within this population remains notably understudied. Bridging this gap, we investigated social WM capacity using biological motion (BM) stimuli in methamphetamine (MA) abusers compared to an inmate control group, alongside contrasting these findings with their canonical WM deficits. Across two studies, we recruited female MA abusers (N = 80) undergoing post-isolation rehabilitation within a mandatory confinement circumstance. To ensure a pertinent comparison, we recruited female inmates (N = 80) subjected to comparable confinement. Results show substantial BM WM impairment in MA abusers, yet non-BM WM remains mostly intact. These findings highlight a pronounced social WM deficit in MA abusers, surpassing their canonical WM deficit relative to inmate controls. This suggests a distinct dissociation between social and canonical WM processing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1969-1980
Number of pages12
JournalPsychological Research
Volume88
Issue number7
Early online date29 Jun 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31871100) awarded to Shouxin Li. Additionally, funding was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32271103),Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2023A1515011762), and Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan Project - Leading Elite Program (2024A04J3301), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities - Major Project Cultivation and Emerging Interdisciplinary Cultivation Plan (24wkjc02). all of which were awarded to author Xiaowei Ding.

FundersFunder number
National Natural Science Foundation of China31871100, 32271103
Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province2023A1515011762
Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan Project2024A04J3301
Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities24wkjc02

    Keywords

    • Biological motion
    • Methamphetamine abuse
    • Social cognition
    • Working memory

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