Auditory working memory in HIV-1 infection

We evaluated auditory working memory in 41 HIV-seropositive (HIV+) and 37 H IV-seronegative (HIV-) male drug users, employing a modified version of the Letter-Number Span Task developed by Gold and colleagues. We added a contr ol condition to the standard task in order to evaluate more directly the co ntribution of the processing component to the working memory deficits with the effects of storage demands minimized. HIV+ subjects performed significa ntly more poorly compared to controls on an index of working memory process ing derived from raw scores obtained under the two resting conditions. Thes e findings are consistent with our previous reports that HIV-related workin g memory deficits are evident across multiple informational domains; furthe r. the deficit appears to involve multiple-component functions of working m emory. Converging findings from recent working memory studies and from prim ate and neuroimaging investigations suggest that functional abnormalities o f prefrontal cortex should receive greater emphasis in models of neurocogni tive aspects of HIV-1 infection, which have typically emphasized "subcortic al': deficits.