The MCCB can be purchased through any of the following test distributors:

BIFCA can be purchased through:

Frequently Asked Questions

We have learned of a few issues affecting use of the MCCB Computer Scoring Program:

1. Calculation of age:  For the initial version of the MCCB computer scoring program, viagra 60mg we identified a minor error in the calculation of age from the respondent’s birth date.  Under certain circumstances, the calculated age may be off by one year.  If this is the version you are working with you can bypass this problem by entering the respondent’s age in years directly on the screen titled “Respondent Registry” and leave the field for birth date blank.  This issue has been corrected in the later versions of the MCCB scoring program that are available by contacting the test distributor that provided the initial program.

2. Date formatting:  Date formatting varies from country to country.  The initial version of the MCCB computer scoring program required users to enter dates according to the U.S. format (mm/dd/yyyy); but other countries format dates in the following way (dd/mm/yyyy).  Later versions of the MCCB scoring program have corrected this problem by providing drop-down calendars for entry of dates.  The later versions of the MCCB scoring program are available by contacting the test distributor that provided the initial program.

3. Input of raw scores from data files:  The scoring program now includes an IMPORT function option to input data files in a specified format to obtain T-scores for groups of subjects.  The computer should be set to English (US) and decimal points should be used for numeric data in place of commas.  Examples are available here: Pre-formatted Respondent and Pre-formatted Sampledata.

4. Windows compatibility:  The computer-based programs in the initial version of the MCCB do not install properly under Microsoft operating systems developed after Windows XP.  Subsequent versions have been modified to allow installation with Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.

5. Information on administration security for use of CPT-IP in Clinical Trials is available here: CPT-IP in Clinical Trials.

6. CD Installation Instructions are available here: Installation Instructions.

7. MSCEIT Branch 4: International Scoring program:  A careful review of the distribution of responses was conducted for each item (“action”) in Branch 4 of the MSCEIT using normative data from China, India (Hindi), Japan, Latin America, Russia, and Spain.  Based on this analysis of item responses in international norms from MSCEIT Branch 4, six items were omitted from the international scoring system because the pattern of responses was not consistent across countries.  These items are still administered so that administration is consistent, but they are not used to compute the scores within the MSCEIT Branch 4: International Scoring program. Installation instructions and patch are available here: Installation Instructions and Patch Zip File.

8. Scoring and Handling of Missing Data on the MCCB:  In the MCCB Manual, we provide recommendations for how to handle missing data involving the MCCB in Chapter 6 (Scoring) and in Appendix B. We list four factors to be considered for imputing values for missing data (test, respondent, treatment, and time).  We realize that for certain clinical trials, it is not feasible to unblind treatment for the purpose of deriving imputed score values for missing data.  Hence, for blinded clinical trials in which unblinding for imputation is not feasible or is undesirable, we recommend that imputation procedures include the other three factors and omit treatment.  Using this option will produce appropriate imputed scores for clinical trials, but may yield a conservative estimate of positive or negative treatment effects.

9. A change in the MCCB scoring system reflects the growing awareness that non-social cognition and social cognition are separable dimensions. It is possible that a treatment will affect social cognition and non-social cognition differently, and that is assumed for specific interventions, such as oxytocin, focused on one area or the other. To allow trialists to examine non-social cognition only, the MCCB scoring program now provides an option for a “Neurocognitive Composite” that does not include social cognition. A limitation of the MCCB is that it does not have an option for a social cognition composite, because there is only one test in that domain. This additional composite has been approved by the MATRICS Neurocognition Committee.

List of Tests

The MCCB includes ten tests that assess seven cognitive domains.

Cognitive Domain Test Description Speed of processing Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS): Symbol-Coding Category Fluency: Animal NamingTrail Making Test: Part A Timed paper-and-pencil test in which respondent uses a key to write digits that correspond to nonsense symbols Oral test in which respondent names as many animals as she/he can in 1 minute Timed paper-and-pencil test in which respondent draws a line to connect consecutively numbered circles placed irregularly on a sheet of paper Attention/Vigilance Continuous Performance Test—Identical Pairs (CPT-IP)* Computer-administered measure of sustained attention in which respondent presses a response button to consecutive matching numbers Working memory (nonverbal) (verbal) Wechsler Memory Scale®—3rd Ed. (WMS®-III): Spatial SpanLetter–Number Span Using a board on which 10 cubes are irregularly spaced, medications respondent taps cubes in same (or reverse) sequence as test administrator Orally administered test in which respondent mentally reorders strings of number and letters and repeats them to administrator Verbal learning Hopkins Verbal Learning Test—Revised™ (HVLT-R™) Orally administered test in which a list of 12 words from three taxonomic categories is presented and the respondent is asked to recall as many as possible after each of three learning trials Visual learning Brief Visuospatial Memory Test—Revised (BVMT-R™) A test that involves reproducing six geometric figures from memory Reasoning and problem solving Neuropsychological Assessment Battery® (NAB®): Mazes Seven timed paper-and-pencil mazes of increasing difficulty that measure foresight and planning Social cognition Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test(MSCEIT™): Managing Emotions Paper-and-pencil multiple-choice test that assesses how people manage their emotions

*WARNING: Do not change the CPT-IP parameter settings. Doing so will invalidate the normative scores and potentially disable the program.