At Starlab, we continue to explore the fascinating ways in which EEG can shed light on brain activity. One of the tasks in our Cognitive Task Battery is the Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR), a cutting-edge method for examining how the brain processes rhythmic auditory stimuli.
What is the ASSR Task?
The ASSR task involves presenting participants with auditory stimuli, such as tones or clicks, at specific frequencies. These sounds are designed to elicit a steady, synchronized response in the brain's auditory cortex, which can be detected using EEG. Unlike other auditory tasks, ASSR focuses on the brain's ability to track and entrain to external rhythmic stimuli, offering a unique window into auditory processing.
Why is the ASSR Task Important?
The ASSR is a powerful tool for assessing auditory function and detecting abnormalities in brain activity. It is widely used in:
Hearing Research: Identifying hearing impairments or auditory processing issues.
Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Studies: Understanding conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Alzheimer's Disease (AD)
Neurophysiological Monitoring: Evaluating the functional integrity of the auditory pathways.
In addition, as we’ll explore in future posts, one of the key advantages of this task is its ability to bridge the gap between animal and human research. The same protocol can be applied to both, providing comparable outcome measures between preclinical studies in mice and clinical trials in humans.
How Starlab is Advancing ASSR Research
At Starlab, we integrate ASSR into our EEG solutions to provide precise and reliable data for research and clinical applications. Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and others often involve disruptions in neural oscillations. The ASSR can reveal abnormalities in the brain's ability to synchronize with external stimuli at specific frequencies, serving as a potential biomarker for these disruptions.
In collaboration with the ACE Alzheimer Research Center, we conducted a study utilizing the ASSR task to examine participants at various stages of cognitive decline. The study included individuals with Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) with positive Alzheimer's disease biomarkers from cerebrospinal fluid (MCI+), and MCI without these biomarkers (MCI-). Interestingly, our findings revealed that participants with MCI, particularly those without Alzheimer's biomarkers, exhibited an enhanced synchronization response at 40Hz compared to those with SCD.
Why does brain synchronization increase in mild cognitive impairment?
We'll explore this intriguing question in future blog posts, where we’ll dive into the different stages of cognitive decline and how they are reflected in EEG signals. Stay tuned!
More details on the use of EEG for Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer's Disease here:
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