ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION Prospective memory impairment in long-term opiate users Gill Terrett & Skye N. McLennan & Julie D. Henry & Kathryn Biernacki & Kimberly Mercuri & H. Valerie Curran & Peter G. Rendell Received: 22 October 2013 /Accepted: 28 December 2013 /Published online: 22 January 2014 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract Rationale Opiate use is associated with a range of neurolog- ical and cognitive deficits. However, to date, no studies have assessed whether these cognitive deficits extend to the ability to perform intended actions in the future (i.e. prospective memory). Reduced ability in this area might be anticipated due to impaired executive functions and episodic memory associated with long-term opiate use. Objectives The main objectives of this study are to assess the performance of long-term opiate users on a laboratory mea- sure of prospective memory which closely simulates the types of prospective memory tasks encountered in everyday life (‘Virtual Week’) and to investigate the extent to which pro- spective memory performance is related to executive func- tions and episodic memory ability. Methods Twenty-six long-term heroin users enrolled in an opiate substitution program, and 30 controls with no previous history of drug use were tested on Virtual Week. Retrospective memory and executive functions were also assessed. Results Long-term opiate users were significantly impaired on prospective memory performance compared with controls (p=0.002, η 2 p =0.17), and these deficits did not vary as a function of prospective memory task type (regular, irregular, event, time). The findings also suggest that retrospective memory difficulties contribute to the prospective memory difficulties seen in opiate users (r s =0.78, p<0.001) but that executive dysfunction is less influential. Conclusions Prospective memory is sensitive to long-term opiate use. Importantly, opiate users suffer from generalised deficits in prospective memory, regardless of the task de- mands, which may have significant implications for day-to- day functioning. These results may therefore contribute to the development of clinical intervention strategies to reduce the negative impact of prospective memory failures in daily life. Keywords Prospective memory . Opiate users . Virtual Week . Executive functions . Retrospective memory Introduction While globally, opiate use has remained relatively stable over the past decade (United Nations 2012), the use of synthetic opiates has increased steeply in several western countries (Holmes 2012; United Nations 2012). Opiate dependence has been associated with serious health, social and economic problems (Veilleux et al. 2010) and even people who have participated in an agonist substitution program for 5 years or more report high rates of dissatisfaction across multiple spheres of their lives, including finances, family relations and living situation (De Maeyer et al. 2011). A better under- standing of the factors contributing to the day-to-day difficul- ties experienced by opiate-dependent individuals could illu- minate avenues for improved support strategies. At least some of the functional difficulties experienced by this group may be linked to the neurological changes associ- ated with prolonged opiate use. These include disrupted white matter integrity in right frontal brain regions (Liu et al. 2008; Lyoo et al. 2004) and decreases in grey matter density in G. Terrett (*) : S. N. McLennan : K. Biernacki : K. Mercuri : P. G. Rendell School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne Campus, Locked Bag 4115, Fitzroy, MDC, Melbourne, Victoria 3065, Australia e-mail: gill.terrett@acu.edu.au J. D. Henry School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia H. V. Curran Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK Psychopharmacology (2014) 231:2623–2632 DOI 10.1007/s00213-014-3432-6