The International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology
Washington, DC, February 21-23
BACKGROUND
- Assessment of functional capacity is an intrinsic part of the treatment of cognitive impairments in schizophrenia.
- The Virtual Reality Functional Capacity Assessment Tool (VRFCAT©) is a computer based virtual reality measure of functional capacity that relies on a realistic simulated environment to recreate routine activities of daily living.
- The VRFCAT contains the components of a shopping trip, including searching the pantry at home, making a list, taking the correct bus, shopping in a store, paying for the purchases, and getting home.
- The VRFCAT, MATRICS™ Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), and the UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment, Brief version (UPSA-B) were administered to a sample of people with schizophrenia to examine concurrent validity.
- These data were also compared to data collected from healthy controls to examine discriminant validity.