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