Cognition in Cocaine Dependence: Assessment & Therapy

描述(由申请人提供)： 认知障碍在药物滥用者中很常见，可能会降低人工心理社会治疗的有效性。如果是这样的话，根据患者的需求量身定做这种治疗应该会提高疗效。这个指导临床科学家奖的目标是通过对药物滥用患者的认知缺陷和人性化心理社会治疗的研究，提高Efrat Aharonovich博士不断发展的临床研究技能。2001年，Aharonovich博士加入该部门，担任精神病学临床心理学助理教授。她对药物滥用患者认知功能和治疗结果的初步研究为她的认知功能影响治疗结果的假设提供了初步支持。阿哈罗诺维奇博士参与了NIDA资助的一项针对抑郁的海洛因成瘾者的研究，不久她将获得NIDA的资助，用于对非抑郁的可卡因滥用患者的认知缺陷和治疗结果进行探索性研究。然而，要成为一名独立的临床研究人员，Aharonovich博士将需要正式的课程工作、指导，并从繁重的临床和管理职责中解放出来，以便她能够专注于发展自己的研究。在接下来的几年里，阿哈罗诺维奇博士计划进行有指导的形成性研究和临床治疗试验，对针对认知障碍药物滥用者的行为干预措施进行改进。这项研究和额外的培训将使Aharonovich博士做好充分准备，以实现她的长期研究生涯目标，即提高药物滥用患者行为干预的有效性。在Edward Nunes博士和哥伦比亚大学其他教职员工的赞助和指导下，Aharonovich博士的培训计划将正式课程工作与临床研究经验结合起来。她将与几位导师密切合作，接受以下领域的培训：进行临床治疗试验的方法、药物滥用者的神经心理评估小组、仪器开发、研究设计和解释以及生物统计学。她的研究计划包括研究认知缺陷对药物滥用患者认知行为治疗(CBT)结果的影响，利用这些信息为认知受损的药物滥用患者量身定做CBT，以及对改良CBT的有效性进行随机临床试验。指导、培训和研究相结合的计划将为阿哈罗诺维奇博士提供独特的培训，并将使她有机会发展独立的临床研究生涯，专注于开发治疗药物滥用障碍的新行为方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cognitive impairment, commonly found among substance abusers, may reduce the effectiveness of manualized psychosocial treatments. If so, tailoring such treatments to the patients' needs should improve effectiveness. The goal of this mentored clinical scientist award is to enhance the developing clinical research skills of Efrat Aharonovich, Ph.D. through research on cognitive deficits and manualized psychosocial treatments for substance abuse patients. In 2001, Dr. Aharonovich joined the faculty in the Division as Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry. Her pilot studies on cognitive functioning and treatment outcome in substance abuse patients provide preliminary support for her hypothesis that cognitive functioning affects treatment outcome. Dr. Aharonovich is co-PI on a NIDA-funded study of depressed heroin addicts, and she will shortly receive NIDA funds for an exploratory study of cognitive deficits and treatment outcome in non-depressed cocaine abusing patients. However, to become an independent clinical researcher, Dr. Aharonovich will need formal course work, mentoring, and release of time from her extensive clinical and administrative responsibilities so that she can concentrate on developing her own research. In the next several years, Dr. Aharonovich plans to conduct mentored formative research and clinical treatment trials of behavioral interventions modified for cognitively impaired substance abusers. This research and additional training will prepare Dr. Aharonovich well to meet her long-term research career goal of improving the effectiveness of behavioral interventions for substance abuse patients. Under the sponsorship and guidance of Dr. Edward Nunes, together with other Columbia University faculty, Dr. Aharonovich's training plan combines formal course work with clinical research experience. She will work closely with several preceptors to receive training in the following areas: methods of conducting clinical treatment trials, neuropsychological assessment batteries for substance abusers, instrument development, study design and interpretation, and biostatistics. Her research plan includes a study of the effects of cognitive deficits on the outcome of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in substance abuse patients, the use of this information to tailor CBT for cognitively impaired substance abuse patients, and a randomized clinical trial of the effectiveness of the modified CBT. The combined mentoring, training and research plan will provide Dr. Aharonovich with unique training, and will afford her the opportunity to develop an independent clinical research career focused on the development of new behavioral approaches to the treatment of substance abuse disorders.