Neurobehavior Core

University Of California, San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The Neurobehavioral (NB) Core complements and expands the resource, scientific, and leadership[unreadable] objectives of the HNRC in improving the effectiveness and public health impact of local, national, and[unreadable] international neuroAIDS research. Building on its accomplishments during the prior funding period, the NB[unreadable] Core aims to provide: 1) Performance scores on individual neuropsychological (NP) measures, as well as[unreadable] clinically and objectively derived global and domain-specific ratings of NP functioning; 2) global and domainspecific[unreadable] determinations of NP change in individual participants using validated clinical and actuarial methods;[unreadable] 3) consensus diagnoses of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders; 4) self-assessment of cognitive and[unreadable] neuropsychiatric complaints and related difficulties experienced in everyday life; 5) current and lifetime[unreadable] history of mood and substance-related diagnoses; 6) laboratory-based measures of everyday functioning[unreadable] abilities, including medication management, work-related abilities and automobile driving; and 7) technical[unreadable] assistance, training, certification, consultation, and career development mentoring. The scientific aims of the[unreadable] NB Core include: 1) Advancing scientific knowledge on the nature and extent of the neurobehavioral effects[unreadable] of HIV disease in older adults and adolescents; 2) examining the impact of HIV and aging specifically on[unreadable] prospective memory and associated problems in everyday functioning; and 3) facilitating the development[unreadable] and implementation of national and international research efforts regarding the neurobehavioral effects of[unreadable] HIV and disease co-factors. Innovations include: 1) Utilization of paradigms derived from cognitive[unreadable] neuropsychology to elucidate the component processes of cognitive deficits in HIV, which may improve the[unreadable] detection and differential diagnosis of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders; and 2) Continued[unreadable] development and validation of culturally relevant neurobehavioral instruments, including the generation of[unreadable] normative standards for minority and international populations. In summary, the NB Core enhances the[unreadable] resource, scientific, and clinical relevance of the HNRC by focusing on scientific questions related to the[unreadable] impact of HIV on cognitive, affective, and adaptive functions, which further augments the transdisciplinary[unreadable] aims of scientific Cores that focus on the biologic (e.g., neuropathological) consequences of HIV infection.