AN EASY-TO-USE AND HIGH-PRECISION EXPERIMENTAL PLATFORM FOR EEG COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT IN CLINICAL TRIALS OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

Addressing the crisis in developing treatments for neurological and mental health disorders requires standardized, multisite acquisition of dynamic neurophysiological data to sensitively assess therapeutic effects. Behavioural measures alone may miss drug effects on cognitive neural mechanisms, whereas EEG provides a non-invasive, scalable alternative. To support reliable cross-site assessment, we developed COGBAT, a fully automated EEG–cognitive platform combining standardized paradigms with wireless EEG. COGBAT has been successfully deployed in multisite studies of Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and other neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., Down syndrome), demonstrating broad applicability across neurodevelopmental cohorts.
EEG was recorded using a brief (~20 min) automated protocol comprising a three-stimulus auditory oddball, resting-state (eyes open/closed), and auditory steady-state response (ASSR). Instructions and acquisition were fully automated via laptop prompts and voice cues, with millisecond-level synchronization via LabStreamingLayer. A wireless, semi-dry electrode EEG system minimized participant burden and allowed deployment by personnel without neurophysiology expertise.
In the FXS cohort, COGBAT reproducibly captured established neurophysiological markers compared to typically developing controls, demonstrating sensitivity to cognitive and neural dynamics relevant to translational research. Observed alterations included reduced P300 and N200 ERPs, decreased gamma-band inter-trial coherence in ASSR, resting-state spectral changes (lower alpha, higher theta/gamma), widespread connectivity reductions, and elevated theta–gamma phase–amplitude coupling with altered complexity.
COGBAT reliably indexes attention, sensory processing, and intrinsic brain activity, making it a scalable translational tool. Brief, automated sessions combining harmonized cognitive paradigms with wireless EEG enhance feasibility for clinical trials and biomarker discovery, with demonstrated potential across multiple neurodevelopmental disorders.