A brief visual evoked potential (VEP) modulation assessment of experience-dependent plasticity recorded via wireless dry-EEG headset in Phase 1 clinical units - Scientific Reports

Q: Why is a brief VEP modulation assessment needed instead of conventional EEG paradigms?

Conventional EEG recording is high burden and time consuming, which limits adoption. Reliability of participant-level VEP modulation measures has also been disappointing even under highly controlled conditions.

Q: What paradigm and hardware were used in the assessment?

The study trialed an 11-minute paradigm using a wireless dry-EEG headset. Multiscale frequency-domain analyses were applied, including wavelet-based decomposition.

Q: How did test–retest reliability change with the wavelet-based analysis?

Timeseries-based test–retest reliability was low, but wavelet-based analysis substantially improved reliability to moderate levels, with some intraclass correlation values ≥ 0.5.

Sep 30, 2026

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A brief visual evoked potential (VEP) modulation assessment was developed to quantify experience-dependent neuroplasticity with lower burden than conventional EEG. The study evaluated an 11-minute wireless dry-EEG paradigm in healthy participants (n=17) and Phase 1 clinical units (n=33), using multiscale frequency-domain analyses and wavelet-based decomposition. Group-level ERP results showed increased post-modulation P1 amplitude in both groups and reduced N1b amplitude in the clinical group. Test–retest reliability improved from low to moderate with wavelet-based analysis, supporting multisite use in real-world CNS therapy trials.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Background and rationale

Brief wireless VEP paradigm and analyses

Participants and study setting

Test–retest reliability and ERP findings

Neuroplasticity mechanisms and prior evidence

Clinical relevance and study purpose

[www. nature.com/scientificreports](www. nature.com/scientificreports) OPEN A brief visual evoked potential (VEP) modulation assessment of experience-dependent plasticity recorded via wireless dry-EEG headset in Phase 1 clinical units Esther C. McWilliams1, Snezana M. Milanovic2, Torbjørn Elvsåshagen3,4,5, Robert Lew2, Seth C. Hopkins2, Cynthia Andrews2, David P. Walling6, Md Nurul Islam7, Hugh Nolan7, Kenneth S. Koblan2 & Brian Murphy7􀀍 Experience-dependent modulation of the visual evoked potential (VEP) can be used as a non-invasive human correlate of invasive measurements of long-term potentiation (LTP)-type neuroplasticity in animal research. However, conventional electroencephalogram (EEG) recording is high burden and time consuming, hindering adoption. Further, reliability of participant-level VEP modulation measures, even in highly controlled conditions, has been disappointing. To increase the practicality and utility of the assessment we trialled a short (11-min) paradigm with wireless dry-EEG headset and applied multiscale frequency-domain analyses to extract more precise measures of neuroplasticity. This approach was tested in healthy participants in laboratory (n = 17) and Phase 1 clinical studies (n = 33) . Typical session duration was < 30 min. Test–retest reliability of VEP waveforms were compared to literature on full-length paradigms with wet-EEG hardware. Group-level time-domain event-related potential (ERP) analyses showed post-modulation P1 amplitude increase in both groups (Cohen’sd = 0.77, 0.78, respectively) and N1b amplitude decrease in clinical study group (Cohen’s d = − 0.52) . Timeseries-based test–retest reliability of the VEP modulation effect was low but was substantially improved to moderate levels (some intraclass correlation ≥ 0.5) with a wavelet-based analysis. This suggests that VEP modulation assessments could be employed across multiple sites to objectively measure experience-dependent plasticity in real-world clinical trials of central nervous system therapies. Keywords Neuroplasticity, Visual evoked potential, Electroencephalography, Clinical trials, Portable dry EEG, VEP modulation Neural plasticity is a foundational mechanism for the development and continued efficient functioning of the brain, enabling organisms to respond appropriately to stimulation in the internal and external environment. Deficitsin neural plasticity are seen in a range of psychiatric and neurological conditions, making its measurement relevant for the detection and tracking of disease1–16. Synaptic plasticity can be measured directly in animals using in vitro and invasive in vivo approaches, including brain slice preparations and intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. However, a noninvasive assay was discovered when researchers noticed that a few minutes of visual stimulation, repeated daily over several days, increased the amplitude of intracranially recorded mouse visual evoked potentials (VEPs) ina long-lasting, stimulus-specific way17. Experience-dependent modulation of the VEP was found to recruit key mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, including n-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activation and trafficking 1Cumulus Neuroscience Ltd., Belfast, UK. 2Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc., Marlborough, MA, USA. 3NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. 4Department of Behavioral Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. 5Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. 6CenExel CNS, Los Alamitos, CA, USA. 7Cumulus Neuroscience Ltd., Dublin, Ireland. 􀀍 email: [brian@cumulusneuro.com](brian@cumulusneuro.com) [www. nature.com/scientificreports/](www. nature.com/scientificreports/) of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs), similar to modulation produced by direct tetanic stimulation18–20. Consequently, several groups developed non-invasive paradigms of v

FAQs

Why is a brief VEP modulation assessment needed instead of conventional EEG paradigms?

Conventional EEG recording is high burden and time consuming, which limits adoption. Reliability of participant-level VEP modulation measures has also been disappointing even under highly controlled conditions.

What paradigm and hardware were used in the assessment?

The study trialed an 11-minute paradigm using a wireless dry-EEG headset. Multiscale frequency-domain analyses were applied, including wavelet-based decomposition.

How did test–retest reliability change with the wavelet-based analysis?

Timeseries-based test–retest reliability was low, but wavelet-based analysis substantially improved reliability to moderate levels, with some intraclass correlation values ≥ 0.5.

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by Riley