Despite the brain being one of the most important organs of the body, breakthroughs in brain health have remained largely unchanged in decades. This is especially true regarding the measurement of cognition. Advanced neuroimaging devices like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) do exist; however, they are anchored in hospitals and obscure research labs – inaccessible to clinicians and ultimately patients.
What are ERPs? ERPs are extensively studied brain activity responses linked to cognitive function. These vital responses are measures of 1) Auditory Sensation, 2) Basic Attention and 3) Cognitive Processing that can be used to optimize individual brain health.
ERPs have several advantages over other less objective tests:
The N100 response is a sensory response. It is stimulated by auditory tones that elicit a negative (N) peak occurring approximately 100 milliseconds after sensory events (i.e., hearing the tone).
This is your ability to use your sensory system to notice different sounds.
You are in the woods, and your brain processes the sounds of birds chirping, leaves crunching under your feet, and water flowing down the river.
The P300 response is an attention response. It is stimulated by random unexpected tones embedded within a routine sequence of expected tones. The P300 is a positive (P) peak that that occurs approximately 300 milliseconds after hearing unexpected tones.
This measures your ability to pay attention to unexpected sounds.
You are in the woods, and suddenly you hear a stick snap near you. Your brain quickly focuses attention to orient to the unexpected sound.
The N400 response is a cognitive response. It is related to processing the meaning of word pairs, where some word pairs match and others do not. The N400 is a negative (N) peak that occurs around 400 after hearing mismatching words.
This measures your higher-level cognitive processing, also known as semantic processing.
You are in the woods, and you match the concept of a stick snapping to either an expected hiker or an unexpected bear.
ARTG number 439393 (Australia) Rx only (US)
The NeuroCatch® Platform is intended to be used in conjunction with other cognitive assessments and is not a diagnostic tool for a specific brain health condition. It is not to be used as a standalone diagnostic device.
