Mission Statement
The
Autism and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Program at the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center is dedicated to three
broad goals:
- Developing innovative, novel and breakthrough treatments for a unique group of conditions
- Clarifying neurobiological correlates of symptom domains such as social cognition and repetitive behaviors
- Providing world-class clinical care to our patients and research participants
We
focus on Autism Spectrum Disorders and Asperger's Syndrome, and
Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders such as Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder (OCD), Body Dysmorphic Disorder (body image disorders) and
Pathological Gambling (an impulse-control disorder or behavioral
addiction). Our work seeks to bridge and translate basic neuroscience
discoveries into innovative experimental therapeutics and new clinical
treatments. Supported by attention from our expert group of
psychiatrists, psychologists and investigators, our patients are
partners in growing the knowledge base for our field.
Methods and Orientation
Our
clinical orientation is translational; we utilize basic neuroscience
discoveries to develop and launch breakthrough treatments. Our clinical
trials and medication treatment studies are integrated in tandem with
neuroimaging (including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI))
and genetic analysis. We use behavioral, cognitive and early efficacy
biomarker assessments (i.e. eye tracking) to determine the impact of
treatments on clinical symptoms and the underlying endophenotype
(measures of the condition that lie in-between genes and clinical
symptoms). We perform our intensive diagnostic, neuropsychological and
safety measures in the Montefiore/Einstein Clinical Research Center.