What’s The Connection Between Cocaine and Memory Loss?

The use of cocaine can cause many short-term and long-term health effects. One of the most prominent of which is memory loss.  

Whether it’s forgetting small details, becoming clumsier or more disorganised, or experiencing black-outs and memory gaps, long-term cocaine use can wreak havoc on your brain’s ability to retain and store information.  

In this blog, we’ll explore the short-term and long-term effects of cocaine on memory. 

How Does Cocaine Affect The Brain? 

Before we begin to assess the connection between cocaine and memory loss, it is first important to gain an understanding how it affects the brain.  

Cocaine affects the brain by rapidly increasing dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure. This sudden flood of dopamine disrupts normal communication between neurons. Over time, this causes the brain to associate dopamine production more with cocaine, and less with other means of achieving pleasure, for example, eating and exercise.  

The result is a chemical imbalance, whereby the brain gradually becomes reliant on the substance in order to maintain consistent levels of dopamine and function normally. When the substance is not in the system, the user may feel down or low, causing them to compulsively seek out the substance.  

This chemical imbalance also causes the brain to become less sensitive to dopamine, and so the user may require more of the substance to feel the same “high.” 

This means that the user has built up a tolerance, leading to increased consumption and deepened dependency on the substance. 

From here, prolonged use can reduce blood flow and narrow blood vessels, which can deprive the brain of oxygen. This in turn lead to brain cell death and a reduction in ‘gray matter’, the part of the brain which is directly responsible for memory making. It can also damage other areas of the brain that are critical for memory, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. 

Short term memory loss from cocaine abuse 

Because cocaine interferes with how neurons communicate with each other, it makes it harder for your brain to take in and remember new information. When intoxicated, the user’s focus and attention can drop dramatically, so even simple daily tasks CAN become tricky. 

Short-term memory is especially at risk here. People might lose track of things, ask the same questions over and over, or forget things that have only just recently happened. Blackouts and memory gaps are common in those who regularly use the substance, leaving holes in what your brain can store. 

Cocaine also affects the brain’s regions critical for memory, such as the hippocampus. This gives the brain difficulty encoding and retrieving short-term memories.  

Some signs of short-term memory loss that you may be able to pick up on include: 

• Not being able to remember events once you have sobered up. 

• Frequently misplacing items such as car keys.  

• Forgetting small details like birthdays. 

• A feeling that time is moving fast with whole days or even weeks slipping you by. 

• Repeating yourself often.  

• Not being able to recall very recent events. 

Long term memory loss from cocaine abuse 

Long-term memory loss from cocaine can happen if the brain gets damaged over time. Chronic use can lead to blood clots in veins and arteries. These clots can cause strokes, which block oxygen from reaching parts of the brain.  

When areas like the hippocampus which help with memory don’t receive enough oxygen, brain cells can die. That can lead to permanent memory problems and other cognitive difficulties. 

Cocaine also changes the brain in deeper ways. In the hippocampus, neurons start misfiring and new brain cells struggle to grow properly with prolonged substance abuse. Proteins that help the brain to make and keep connections, which are important for learning and memory, also stop working the way they should. The drug can even mess with the genetic “switches” that control how memories are formed and stored. 

The result is lasting damage to memory. Things like remembering places, recognising people, and retaining information in your head gets harder. Even after quitting, some of these problems can persist. In some cases, the brain can fully repair itself, but other effects can be more permanent. 

Basically, long-term memory loss from cocaine comes from strokes, dying brain cells, and changes to how the brain stores and uses information. The impact can be serious, and it can last for years. Here are just some of the signs: 

• Reduced attention span 

• Impaired decision-making. 

• Inability to communicate with others effectively.  

• Struggling to complete simple tasks in a timely manner. 

• Poor motor skills. 

The Connection Between Cocaine and Memory Loss: Get help today 

If you, or someone you know is struggling with cocaine use, New Leaf Recovery are here to help. We advise seeking professional help as soon as possible if you believe you may have difficulty with your short term or long term memory from cocaine.  

Not only can this help to stem memory loss before it worsens, but it can also keep you from spiralling into a cocaine addiction that could wreak further physical and mental harm.