Enduring changes in brain metabolites and executive functioning in abstinent cocaine users

[Display omitted] •Abstinent cocaine users show lasting changes in brain energy metabolism.•Former users of crack cocaine show additional changes in brain glutamate levels.•Performance on tasks of executive function correlated to NAA (neuronal energy). There is a paucity of data connecting the metabolic and cognitive functioning of abstinent cocaine users. This is a pressing public health concern as approximately 1% of the Canadian population and 0.4% of the global population is estimated to have used cocaine in the past year. Our clinical study compared the in vivo neurochemical profiles in the prefrontal cortex to cognitive tests associated with the same region in 21 moderate term abstinent cocaine users (average 187days abstinent, range 15–1432days), and 30 healthy controls using 3T 1H MRS. The abstinent cocaine users exhibited a 10% decrease in N-acetylaspartate (NAA) relative to healthy control subjects (p