Background
Impaired neurocognitive function is one of the core features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The description and treatment of neurocognitive symptoms requires that the clinical community has access to standardized test batteries that are developed independent of the pharmacological industry or other commercial interests.
Objectives
For the purpose of developing a consensus battery suitable for the assessment of cognitive function in clinical trials of cognition enhancing drugs, the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded the project Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS).
Outcomes
The result of this effort is the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) consisting of 10 neuropsychological tests assessing the seven neurocognitive domains Speed of Processing, Attention/Vigilance, Working Memory, Verbal Learning, Visual Learning, Reasoning and Problem Solving, and Social Cognition. The first officially approved MCCB translation was into the Norwegian language. The present study reports the first international reference data, based on scores from 250 healthy Norwegian women and men between the ages of 12 and 59.
Publication
Mohn, Sundet & Rund: The Norwegian standardization of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery