The MATRICS™ Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB™) is intended to provide a relatively brief evaluation of key cognitive domains relevant to schizophrenia and related disorders, and was designed to address the following purposes:
- As an outcome measure for clinical trials of cognition-enhancing drugs for schizophrenia
- As an outcome measure for studies of cognitive remediation
- As a measure of cognitive change in repeated testing applications
- As a cognitive reference point for non-intervention studies of schizophrenia and related disorders
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) initiative, Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS™), was designed to stimulate the development of psychopharmacological agents to improve cognition in schizophrenia. The MCCB™ was one deliverable from this Initiative. The selection of tests included in the MCCB™ involved a broad-based interdisciplinary consensus process that is described in more detail in the following articles:
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Nuechterlein, K.H., Green, M.F., Kern, R.S., Baade, L.E., et al. The MATRICS™ Consensus Cognitive Battery, Part 1: Test Selection, Reliability, and Validity. doi.org/10.1176/
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Kern, R.S., Nuechterlein, K.H., Green, M.F., Baade, L.E., et al. The MATRICS™ Consensus Cognitive Battery, Part 2: Co-Norming and Standardization. doi.org/10.
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Green, M.F., Nuechterlein, K.H., Kern, R.S., Baade, L.E., et al. Functional Co-Primary Measures for Clinical Trials in Schizophrenia: Results From the MATRICS Psychometric and Standardization Study. doi.org/10.1176/appi.
ajp.2007.07010089
The MCCB™ includes ten tests that measure seven cognitive domains:
1. Speed of processing
• BACS: Symbol Coding
• Category Fluency: Animal Naming
• Trail Making Test: Part A
2. Attention/vigilance
• CPT-IP (Trial Testing Only)
3. Working memory
• WMS®-III: Spatial Span
• Letter-Number Span
4. Verbal learning
• HVLT-R™
5. Visual learning
• BVMT-R™
6. Reasoning and problem solving
• NAB®: Mazes
7. Social cognition
• MSCEIT™: Managing Emotions