The Neurocognitive Profile: A High Efficiency Integrated Brain-Behavior Assay

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alterations in neurocognitive function play a major role in numerous sleeps, neurological and psychiatric disorders and can have a significant impact on quality of life, treatment efficacy, rehabilitation and ability to function at work and in normal daily activities. The methods currently available for neurocognitive investigations including traditional neuropsychological assessment (e.g. Halstead-Reitan, Wechsler memory battery), neurophysiological measures (e.g. electroencephalogram, Multiple Sleep Latency Test) and behavioral tests (e.g. Continuous Performance Test, Psychomotor Vigilance Test) are time-consuming, expensive and often require substantial technical expertise to administer and interpret. The Alertness and Memory Profiling (AMP) system integrates neurophysiological, behavioral and subjective measures in a platform designed for quantitative assessment of neurocognitive functions including alertness, attention, learning and memory. The AMP employs a multivariate approach, combining EEG, neuropsychological tests and validated self-report inventories in an easy-to-administer set of protocols. Initial investigations revealed that AMP could be used to characterize the changes in alertness, learning and memory associated with sleep deprivation in healthy subjects and to provide a biobehavioral assay that identified those Individuals most and least susceptible to the effects of sleep deprivation. The AMP also proved sensitive and specific in discriminating patients with the highly prevalent, under-diagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) from healthy subjects. The AMP characterized individual profiles of alertness and memory impairment and quantified the amelioration of some cognitive impairments following treatment with CPAP. Four neurocognitive factors were derived from the AMP data: sustained attention, processing speed, verbal memory and visuospatial memory. Preliminary investigations with the AMP prototype systems have resulted in inquiries from a wide range of researchers and clinicians interested in applying the AMP to investigations in sleep medicine, drug addiction, pharmaceutical evaluation, forensic investigations, ergonomics, sports medicine, military applications, education/training evaluations, and occupational medicine. The plan for the Phase I is to build upon this foundation of work in the area of sleep medicine, and extend the development of AMP platform to accommodate the range of potential applications and to take the next step in the evolution of the AMP product in a clinical applications study in collaboration with the New York University sleep laboratory.