Neurocognitive Assessment Meter For Psychiatric Drugs

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to develop an efficient, user-friendly, and cost-effective system for objectively assessing any impairments or improvements in cognitive function that might occur consequent to the administration of drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders. The NeuroCognitive Assessment Meter (NCAM) will combine neurophysiological and behavioral measures to exploit the complementary forms of information that they provide. In prior work we have found that such an approach can yield multivariate indices that are highly sensitive to cognitive changes produced by drugs and other interventions. In Phase I new neurophysiological and cognitive perfonnance data were collected from ten healthy subjects before and after ingestion of a placebo or a commonly prescribed anxiolytic. Results from this study indicated that the multivariate indexing methods we have developed generalized well to this new intervention. The Phase I project also contributed to the design of a compact and easy-to-use automated testing and analysis system that will provide the infrastructure for a commercial-grade NCAM. Together these developments support the scientific and technical viability of the NCAM. In Phase II we plan to further develop and validate our procedures using a larger database, fully implement a prototype system, subject it to independent evaluation, and develop a commercialization strategy. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The NCAM will serve as an enabling technology for researchers evaluating whether cognitive impairment or improvement occurs as a side effect or intended effect of drugs administered to treat psychiatric disorders. It will also be useful to the pharmaceutical industry during the drug development process. The system could also have a high clinical impact in helping to choose the most effective drug and dosage in the treatment of individual psychiatric patients.