Core--Clinical evaluation

The Clinical Evaluation Core's goals are to: (1) recruit, characterize, and follow all human subjects participating in projects #2-7 of the CCNMD (2) develop and maintain state-of-the-art methods for clinical characterization of human framework for testing the stress-diathesis model of suicidal behavior. The CEC identified and recruits patients with MDE, BPD, and Schizophrenia across the life cycle (and post-mortem). Normal volunteers are recruited to provide normative values on the clinical and neurobiological measures used and to establish psychometric properties of measures in a non-pathological population. The CEC utilizes a core of clinical/neuropsychological instruments covering major risk factor domains for suicidal behavior, and ensures uniformity of assessment domains and measures across the projects of the CCNMD. These assessments include Axis I and II diagnostic interviews, measures of state and trait-related risk factors, neuropsychological assessment, measures of suicidal behavior, demographic history, life events, social functioning, family psychiatric history. Assessments are performed at intake, at time of biological procedures, at discharge, at 3 month, 1 and 2 year follow-up. The CEC investigates, develops and tests new assessment procedures to address current and future needs in the field of suicide research, and regularly reviews the reliability and validity of instruments. The CEC ensures the quality of clinical assessments through inter-rater reliability rounds using live or taped interviews. On all measures, our faculty provides consultation to investigators in research methodology and result interpretation. The CEC faculty provides consultation to investigators in research methodology and result interpretation. The CEC has successfully recruited and followed adequate members of life subjects in the proposed diagnostic and age categories. The training and reliability of all CCNMD raters is coordinated by the CEC. The CEC works with SCC staff in developing forms, data management procedures and in generating reliability statistics The CEC coordinates with the BIC regarding recruitment, interviewing, control matching and subject flow. The CEC obtains the blood and cerebrospinal fluid from subjects to be analyzed by the CLC. The CEC interfaces with the Administrative Core regarding recruitment of new staff and maintenance of a central database of all CEC manuscripts. The CEC coordinates all diagnostic consensus conferences.