Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential: temporal stability, associations to sociodemographic variables, and functional significance—implications for clinical research

IntroductionThe loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) has been suggested as a biomarker for central serotonergic function, and as such a proxy for serotonin related psychiatric symptomatology and intervention outcome, particularly in depression. This study aims to explore LDAE...

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Main Authors: Stein Andersson, Trine Waage Rygvold, Christoffer Hatlestad-Hall
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1507291/full
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author Stein Andersson
Stein Andersson
Trine Waage Rygvold
Christoffer Hatlestad-Hall
author_facet Stein Andersson
Stein Andersson
Trine Waage Rygvold
Christoffer Hatlestad-Hall
author_sort Stein Andersson
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) has been suggested as a biomarker for central serotonergic function, and as such a proxy for serotonin related psychiatric symptomatology and intervention outcome, particularly in depression. This study aims to explore LDAEP characteristics in a large healthy population by assessing its test–retest reliability and examining associations with sociodemographic variables, psychological distress, and performance-based cognitive function.MethodsOur sample included 100 healthy adults whose LDAEP was measured and correlated with age, sex, self-reported psychological distress, and cognitive performance.ResultsParticipants examined twice (n = 38) showed high test-retest reliability with intraclass correlations (ICCs) between 0.67 and 0.89 over a 2-to-3-month interval. Furthermore, the magnitude of the LDAEP was significantly higher in women than men, and female hormonal contraceptive users exhibited higher LDAEP than non-users. In females, age was inversely correlated with LDAEP. However, no significant associations were found between LDAEP and measures of psychological distress, including depressive symptoms, nor with cognitive test performance.DiscussionThese results underline LDAEP's reliability as a biomarker over time, but also highlight age, sex and hormonal contraceptive use as significant factors influencing the LDAEP. Future research in clinical population should take these results into account, with an emphasis on providing the necessary sample sizes for relevant sub-group analyses.
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spelling doaj-art-409904e8bcbd489f86f783a247bfbcb92025-02-06T07:09:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612025-02-011910.3389/fnhum.2025.15072911507291Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential: temporal stability, associations to sociodemographic variables, and functional significance—implications for clinical researchStein Andersson0Stein Andersson1Trine Waage Rygvold2Christoffer Hatlestad-Hall3Section for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayPsychosomatic Medicine and CL Psychiatry, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences for Children, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, NorwayIntroductionThe loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) has been suggested as a biomarker for central serotonergic function, and as such a proxy for serotonin related psychiatric symptomatology and intervention outcome, particularly in depression. This study aims to explore LDAEP characteristics in a large healthy population by assessing its test–retest reliability and examining associations with sociodemographic variables, psychological distress, and performance-based cognitive function.MethodsOur sample included 100 healthy adults whose LDAEP was measured and correlated with age, sex, self-reported psychological distress, and cognitive performance.ResultsParticipants examined twice (n = 38) showed high test-retest reliability with intraclass correlations (ICCs) between 0.67 and 0.89 over a 2-to-3-month interval. Furthermore, the magnitude of the LDAEP was significantly higher in women than men, and female hormonal contraceptive users exhibited higher LDAEP than non-users. In females, age was inversely correlated with LDAEP. However, no significant associations were found between LDAEP and measures of psychological distress, including depressive symptoms, nor with cognitive test performance.DiscussionThese results underline LDAEP's reliability as a biomarker over time, but also highlight age, sex and hormonal contraceptive use as significant factors influencing the LDAEP. Future research in clinical population should take these results into account, with an emphasis on providing the necessary sample sizes for relevant sub-group analyses.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1507291/fullLDAEPtest–retest reliabilitysociodemographicshormonal contraceptivespsychological distresscognitive function
spellingShingle Stein Andersson
Stein Andersson
Trine Waage Rygvold
Christoffer Hatlestad-Hall
Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential: temporal stability, associations to sociodemographic variables, and functional significance—implications for clinical research
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
LDAEP
test–retest reliability
sociodemographics
hormonal contraceptives
psychological distress
cognitive function
title Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential: temporal stability, associations to sociodemographic variables, and functional significance—implications for clinical research
title_full Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential: temporal stability, associations to sociodemographic variables, and functional significance—implications for clinical research
title_fullStr Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential: temporal stability, associations to sociodemographic variables, and functional significance—implications for clinical research
title_full_unstemmed Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential: temporal stability, associations to sociodemographic variables, and functional significance—implications for clinical research
title_short Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential: temporal stability, associations to sociodemographic variables, and functional significance—implications for clinical research
title_sort loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential temporal stability associations to sociodemographic variables and functional significance implications for clinical research
topic LDAEP
test–retest reliability
sociodemographics
hormonal contraceptives
psychological distress
cognitive function
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1507291/full
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