Chronic cocaine abuse speeds up the aging of the brain, British researchers have found.

The University of Cambridge study found the age-related loss of grey matter in the brain is greater in people who are dependent on cocaine than in healthy people.

The researchers scanned the brains of 120 people who are similar in age, gender and verbal IQ. Half of the individuals had a dependence on cocaine while the other 60 had no history of substance abuse disorders.

The cocaine users lost about 3.08 ml of brain volume per year, which is almost twice the rate of healthy volunteers, who lost about 1.69 ml per year.

The researchers said the accelerated age-related decline in brain volume was most prominent in the prefrontal and temporal cortex, important regions of the brain that are associated with attention, decision-making, and self-regulation as well as memory.

Conclusion: Don’t do drugs.

via LiveScience

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Jeff Cormier

Dad, husband, dog lover, law, write at DigitalDeconstruction.com and other online destinations, forever immature. It's the me that I let you know.

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