2.2.1. MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB)

The MCCB is considered the “gold standard” for assessing neurocognition among patients with psychosis (Nuechterlein et al., 2008). The MCCB assesses for impairment in seven neurocognitive domains: (i) working memory, (ii) attention and vigilance, (iii) verbal learning and memory, (iv) visual learning and memory, (v) reasoning and problem-solving, (vi) information processing speed, and (vii) social cognition (Green et al., 2004; Nuechterlein et al., 2008). The battery comprises 10 different neuropsychological tests: (a) the Trail Making Test (TMT): Part A; (b) Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS): Symbol Coding; (c) Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R); (d) Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition (WMS-III): Spatial Span; (e) Letter-Number Span (LNS); (f) Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised; (g) Category Fluency: Animal Naming; (h) Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT): Managing Emotions (D & H); and (i) Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs (CPT-IP), MATRICS International Version 2. The complete battery takes approximately 90 min to complete. The MCCB administration procedure has been as previously described in Nuechterlein et al. (2008).