Breaking new ground in mental health research: Oxford University, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Cumulus Neuroscience launch first of its kind study investigating the day-to-day experience of patients with psychiatric disorders
Ingelheim, Germany, Oxford and Belfast, UK, April 29, 2025 – Boehringer Ingelheim, the University of Oxford, and Cumulus Neuroscience are joining forces to provide insights into the day-to-day experiences of people living with psychiatric disorders, and how these experiences relate to their brain activity. The first-of-its-kind study will use novel technology to quantify brain activity, mood, and behavior at home in people who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), an often neglected group of patients. The aims are to explore the acceptability of this technology in patients and gain quantitative, fine-grained, insights that could potentially guide the research and development of much-needed new therapies.
Current clinical and lab-based assessments rely on retrospective recall of symptoms. They are thus limited by how accurately patients remember past events and only provide a snapshot in time of an individual's clinical state. Moreover, self-reported questionnaires lack objectivity. This can lead to an incomplete or inaccurate picture of the overall experience of the individual and the failure of new medicines in clinical studies.
This new study aims to change that. It will use Cumulus´ NeuLogiq® neuroassessment platform for the first time in people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. This platform enables the tracking of brain function over time, both in the clinic, and from the comfort of a study participant's home. Participants use a tablet to perform gamified versions of established objective behavioral tasks, while wearing the NeuLogiq headset which records EEG (electroencephalogram) brain waves that are precisely time-synced to the tasks. The intent is to capture data that will provide a more accurate picture of brain network activity.
In 2019, one in eight people worldwide were estimated to be living with a mental health condition, and half of the adult population can expect to experience a mental illness by age 75.i,ii* People diagnosed with severe mental health conditions experience reduced life expectancy relative to the general population, with around 14 years of potential life lost,1 and the economic consequences of mental health conditions can be enormous.iii That's why Boehringer Ingelheim is embracing ‘Precision Psychiatry'. This in-depth research approach delves into the neurobiology of symptoms with the goal of uncovering more targeted and holistic treatment solutions that address specific symptoms in people living serious mental illness to help them to live fulfilling lives.
Kate Saunders, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Oxford says, “People diagnosed with borderline personality disorder experience a range of symptoms, including changeable mood, impulsivity, and associated difficulties in interpersonal relationships, all of which can have a significant impact on their lives. We're looking forward to exploring this new technology in people living with BPD, in collaboration with the scientists at Cumulus and Boehringer Ingelheim, to gain new insights into the mechanisms which underpin the symptoms people given this diagnosis experience. This could open up pathways for the development of new therapies.”
Dr. Hugh Marston, Senior Vice President and Global Head Neuroscience & Mental Health, Boehringer Ingelheim says, “Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to developing novel therapeutics to address the major unmet needs of people living with mental health disorders. If this platform is successfully validated in this patient population, it could be a game-changer for studies investigating novel precision psychiatry treatments. It could help us identify biomarkers for stratification and provide a rich dataset for reverse-translation.”
“Many psychiatric conditions disrupt cognitive function, meaning that patients may find it harder to manage their daily life or continue to work effectively,” said Brian Murphy, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cumulus. “These underappreciated symptoms can change from day to day, so frequent real-world measurement is important if we want to find new therapies that improve activities of daily living and quality of life. Today, we are fortunate that wearable technologies and AI are enabling a new era of drug development where we can understand objectively how a drug affects cognitive function and the underlying brain mechanisms that drive it.”
The study will be conducted by the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Oxford at the Warneford Hospital. It will frequently collect EEG and behavioral assessments, alongside remote measures of mood and activity. The main aims are to assess the feasibility of using the Cumulus platform in young adults aged 18-35 and to provide a rich dataset about brain activity and behavior in BPD for in-depth analysis. Thirty participants who have been diagnosed with BPD and 20 participants with no diagnosed mental health disorder will be recruited.
Dr. Lauren Atkinson, from the Department of Psychiatry who will be senior researcher on the study says, “We are looking forward to working with people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and prioritising research important to them. One of the key features of a BPD diagnosis is affective dysregulation. By regularly capturing mood, alongside measures of brain activity and cognitive function over an extended period of time, we hope to better capture patient experience and use objective measures to understand more about what is happening at those key moments.”
*The mental health conditions studied in this epidemiological research included: panic disorder and/or agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, alcohol abuse disorder, alcohol dependence disorder, drug abuse disorder, drug dependence disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and intermittent explosive disorder.
About Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim is a biopharmaceutical company active in both human and animal health. As one of the industry's top investors in research and development, the company focuses on developing innovative therapies that can improve and extend lives in areas of high unmet medical need. Independent since its foundation in 1885, Boehringer takes a long-term perspective, embedding sustainability along the entire value chain. Our approximately 54,500 employees serve over 130 markets to build a healthier and more sustainable tomorrow. Learn more at www.boehringer-ingelheim.com (global) or www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/uk (UK).
About Cumulus Neuroscience
Our mission is to generate the data and insights required to accelerate the diagnosis and management of central nervous system (CNS) disorders for millions of patients and caregivers around the world. At Cumulus Neuroscience we are advancing NeuLogiq®, an AI-based, multi-domain digital biomarker platform designed with 10 of the world's leading pharma companies. This novel platform provides the critical data and insights needed for faster, more robust and cost-effective decision-making in clinical trials and patient care. NeuLogiq enables study sponsors to capture large amounts of real-world clinical data repeatedly over time, across multiple behavioral and physiological domains, in the clinic and at home. Together with machine learning (ML) analytics, Cumulus simplifies and improves the robustness of CNS clinical trials, providing objective assessment of study inclusion and treatment outcomes.
About Oxford University
The University Department of Psychiatry's mission is to conduct world-class research, teach psychiatry to medical students, develop future researchers in a graduate programme, teach doctors in training, promote excellence in clinical practice, and develop and provide innovative clinical services. It supports research in four key areas: neurobiology, psychological treatments, developmental psychiatry and social psychiatry. The Department is committed to the translation of scientific discovery into benefits for patients. www.psych.ox.ac.uk
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Media Contacts
Boehringer Ingelheim:
Dr. Reinhard Malin
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Center GmbH
Innovation Unit/Bio Comms, Corp. Affairs
Media + PR
press@boehringer-ingelheim.com
Cumulus:
Tina Sampath
tina.sampath@cumulusneuro.com
Oxford University:
Lisa Jones
Communications Manager
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital
lisa.jones@psych.ox.ac.uk