Recognition and Prevention Program

The Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program is a research and specialty clinic located in the Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York. It provides education and treatment for young people and their families, and conducts research about the effects of early identification in preventing the progression of serious mental illnesses. The program’s approach is that, with early intervention, an individual’s chances of remaining in school, working, maintaining friendships, and planning for the future might be significantly improved [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].

History

The RAP Program was founded by its Director, Dr. Barbara A. Cornblatt, in 1998 and was one of the first programs in North America to investigate and treat the prodromal or pre-psychotic phases of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder[8]. Since its inception, over 250 adolescents and young adults, ages 12–22, have participated in the RAP clinic and research program.

RAP is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health, and is part of the North American Prodromal Longitudinal Study (NAPLS), a consortium of eight prodromal programs which constitutes one of the leading investigations of the biological, behavioral and functional attributes of the psychosis prodrome worldwide[9].

Dr. Barbara A. Cornblatt

In addition to her work at RAP, Dr. Cornblatt is currently a Professor of Psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an Investigator at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research[10]. She conducted research in the Department of Medical Genetics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons for over 15 years, during which time she focused on identifying risk factors for Schizophrenia. She is the Founder and Co-Director of the International Prodromal Research Network and is currently on the board of directors for the International Early Psychosis Association. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Early Intervention in Psychiatry and serves as a reviewer for a broad range of psychiatric journals.

Dr. Cornblatt has been an author on over 100 publications [11] and has served on numerous NIMH special interest and review committees. In 2009, she was awarded the Lorinda de Roulet Award for Excellence in Research from Katz Women’s Hospital and a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) research award in 2003.

Dr. Cornblatt also developed the Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs (CPT-IP) version, a measure of attention and working memory that has been used in a large number of studies, both nationally and internationally, and is now considered a standard for measuring neuropsychological change in clinical trials[12][13][14].

References

  1. ^ http://www.rapprogram.org/aboutRAP.html
  2. ^ Cornblatt, B.A. & Keilp, J.G. (1994). Impaired attention, genetics, and the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 20(1):31-46
  3. ^ Cornblatt, B.A., Lencz, T., Smith, C.W., Correll, C.U., Auther, A.M., Nakayama, E. (2003). The schizophrenia prodrome revisited: A neurodevelopmental perspective. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 29(4):633-651
  4. ^ Cornblatt, B.A & Auther, A.M. (2005). Treating early psychosis: Who, what, and when? Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 7(1):39-49
  5. ^ Cornblatt, B.A., Lencz, T., Smith, C.W., Olsen, R., Auther, A.M., Nakayama, E., et al. (2007). Can antidepressants be used to treat the schizophrenia prodrome? Results of a prospective, naturalistic treatment study of adolescents. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68(4):546-557
  6. ^ Cornblatt, B.A, Auther, A.M., Niendam, T., Smith, C.W., Zinberg, J., Bearden, C.E., Cannon, T.D. (2007). Premlinary findings for two new measures of social and role functioning in the prodromal phase of schizphrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33(3):688-702
  7. ^ Auther, A.M., Gillett, D.A. & Cornblatt, B.A. (2008). Expanding the boundaries of early intervention for psychosis: Intervening during the prodrome. Psychiatric Annals, 38(8):528-537
  8. ^ http://www.feinsteininstitute.org/Feinstein/Program+for+Recognition+and+Prevention
  9. ^ Cannon, T.D., Cadenhead, K., Cornblatt, B., Woods, S.W., Addington, J., Walker, E., Seidman, L.J., Perkins, D., Tsuang, M., McGlashan, T., & Heinssen, R. (2008). Prediction of psychosis in youth at high clinical risk: A multisite longitudinal study in North America. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65(1):28-37.
  10. ^ http://67.214.131.206/nonav.cfm?ID=2651
  11. ^ Cornblatt BA, Lencz T, Smith CW, Olsen R, Auther AM, Nakayama E et al. Can antidepressants be used to treat the schizophrenia prodrome? Results of a prospective, naturalistic treatment study of adolescents. J Clin Psychiatry 2007; 68(4):546-557
  12. ^ Cornblatt, B., Risch, N., Faris, G., Friedman, D., and Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L.: The Continuous Performance Test, Identical Pairs Version (CPT-IP): I. New findings about sustained attention in normal families. Psychiatry Research, 26:223-238, 1988.
  13. ^ Cornblatt, B., Lenzenweger, M. and Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L.: The Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs (CPT-IP): II. Contrasting profiles of attentional deficits in schizophrenic and depressed patients, Psychiatry Research, 29(1):65-85, 1989
  14. ^ Cornblatt, B. A., & Kelip, J. G. (1994). Impaired attention genetics, and the patho-physiology of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 20 (1), 31-46