The Behavioral Assessment Core will be a unique campus-wide resource for neurocognitive, behavioral, and psychological assessment of subjects being considered for or enrolled in clinical research investigations across disciplines. Since the assessment and quantification of clinical outcomes is an essential part of clinical research, this core will assist investigators in selecting and/or developing appropriate psychometric tools for the assessment of subjects in a wide array of clinical studies. In addition to the instrument selection process, other services of the core will be subject interview and assessment, analysis and interpretation of test results, as well as collaboration across reviews, manuscripts, and grant preparation. This multidisciplinary approach to clinical research will allow investigators to utilize valuable data in hypothesis testing including:
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subject characterization of cognitive demographics such as IQ and handedness;
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specialized assessment for protocols (working memory, executive functioning);
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inclusion/exclusion criteria determination (degree of cognitive competence, existence or degree of dementia, deficit, or impairment);
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characterization of subjects with special abilities (savants) or neurodevelopmental and acquired disorders;
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determination of individual and group cognitive strengths and weaknesses;
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correlation of cognitive abilities with quantitative and functional brain imaging results;
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evaluation of cognitive change over time, useful in pre- and post-clinical trials, surgical interventions, cognitive rehabilitation, and medical/treatment effects;
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assessment of quality of life and daily functional capacity; and
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quantitative evaluation of psychological/emotional and personality functioning (e.g. anxiety, depression, positive/negative affect, resilience, personality style).
In addition to this institution's existing clinical neuropsychological assessment service, there are numerous psychologists across the UT Southwestern Medical Center system in Dallas with expertise in neuropsychology, personality, psychometrics, test development, and the tools used to quantify various aspects of human behavior and clinical outcomes.
The Behavioral Assessment Core will serve as a central clearinghouse, setting up liaisons between investigators of any UT Southwestern Medical Center clinical research discipline and those psychologists best equipped to contribute understanding to the research question and possibilities for assessment. It will also be the home of a comprehensive measurement library, ensuring the availability of many validated instruments for immediate utilization. This library will serve as a foundation for the development of new psychometric instruments to fill unique needs of the UT Southwestern Medical Center community.
