<p>Differences in cognitive deficits in patients with methamphetamine and heroin use disorder compared with healthy controls in a Chinese Han population</p>

Background and aims: To date, the pattern of heroin-and methamphetamine-induced cognitive impairment is unclear, especially in the Chinese population. The aim of this study was to compare the similarity and heterogeneity of cognitive impairment between heroin and methamphetamine-dependent patients and to link cognitive impairment to drug-related variables.& nbsp;Methods: 567 pure methamphetamine patients, 78 pure heroin patients and 201 healthy volunteers participated in this study. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was used to assess cognitive function including immediate memory, visuospatial/constructional index, language, attention, delayed memory, and total scores.& nbsp;Results: Methamphetamine-dependent and heroin-dependent patients performed significantly worse on all RBANS subtest and total scores (all p 0.05).& nbsp;Conclusions: Chronic heroin and methamphetamine patients may exhibit different patterns of cognitive deficits