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P2 Flash Visual Evoked Response Delay May Be a Marker of Cognitive Dysfunction in Healthy Elderly Volunteers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2005

Norman C. Moore
Affiliation:
Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia, U.S.A.
Robert L. Vogel
Affiliation:
Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia, U.S.A.
Karen A. Tucker
Affiliation:
Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Nahed M. Khairy
Affiliation:
Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia, U.S.A.
Kerry L. Coburn
Affiliation:
Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia, U.S.A.

Abstract

In an earlier study, 31 healthy elderly volunteers had normal cognitive function as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination. Twenty-seven returned for further memory testing using the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R). The P2 latency of the flash visual evoked response was positively correlated with age (p = .0008), but was not significantly related to gender. Nine of these 27 putatively healthy subjects had a delayed P2, suggestive of dementia. Although unaware of any memory deficits, 5 of the 27 had WMS-R Visual Memory Span percentile scores 1 or more standard deviations less than age-matched controls. Four of the five also had a significantly delayed P2 component. This positive correlation, adjusted for age, between poor Visual Memory Span performance and a delayed P2 was statistically significant (p < .025). These findings suggest that a delayed P2 in putatively healthy subjects is indicative of a visuospatial deficit which might be a precursor of dementia later.

Type
Studies on Cognition and Dementia
Copyright
© 1996 International Psychogeriatric Association

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