Matter Neuroscience has announced a collaboration with Stanford Medicine's Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department to explore whether combining the Matter Neuroscience protocol with real-time neurofeedback can influence emotional brain networks relevant to depression. The partnership represents a novel approach to treating depression through targeted emotion training guided by advanced neuroimaging technology.
Study Design and Objectives
The controlled, multi-arm study will enroll at least 210 depressed patients with the objective to significantly reduce clinical endpoints using real-time 7T fMRI neurofeedback in combination with the Matter protocol. The approach works by selectively activating key brain areas hosting distinct positive emotions, with clinical endpoints paralleled by several molecular, emotional and behavioral biomarkers.
Professor Nolan Williams, M.D., an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab, will serve as the Principal Investigator on the study.
Clinical Significance and Therapeutic Potential
"This study allows us to investigate how targeted emotion training, guided by real-time fMRI, may influence mood-related brain circuits," said Dr. Williams. "What makes this particularly interesting is the opportunity to evaluate both the neural mechanisms involved in emotion regulation and the feasibility of translating this approach into a deliverable treatment in the clinic or home one day."
If successful, the findings can be integrated into a full-scale clinical trial with the potential to inform future non-pharmaceutical curative therapies for depression.
Technology and Methodology
The Matter protocol is based on research conducted by Matter Neuroscience and its academic partners in Maastricht and Copenhagen, who have successfully identified a human map for distinct positive emotions in the brain. Using this map as a directional biomarker, a team led by Professor Rainer Goebel at the Maastricht Brain Imaging Center in the Netherlands developed a protocol that allows for training and intensifying distinct human emotions using real-time fMRI neurofeedback with autobiographical memories.
Matter CEO Axel Bouchon expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating: "After we have seen positive effects in emotional wellbeing of healthy individuals in our studies in the past 4-5 years, it is just one of the most exciting studies I have witnessed in my career. Ultimately, we try to use the latest advancements in MRI technology and the patients' good memories as a personalized medicine to reduce, maybe permanently cure, their depressive symptoms."
Company Background
Matter Neuroscience was founded in 2019 by Axel Bouchon and Ben Goldhirsh with a mission to use neuroscience to help people live longer, healthier, happier lives. The company operates both a consumer technology business and a medical business addressing healthy individuals and patients, respectively. Matter is led by CEO Axel Bouchon, who has experience at Moderna, Bayer, and ARCH Venture Partners, while Ben Goldhirsh serves as Chairman and Head of Product.
