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P300 sequence effects differ between children and adults for auditory stimuli

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2001

R. KILPELÄINEN
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
A. KOISTINEN
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland Department of Applied Physics, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
M. KÖNÖNEN
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
E. HERRGÅRD
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Unit of Child Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
J. PARTANEN
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
J. KARHU
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
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Abstract

Variation of the P300 component was studied in normal children and adults during an auditory oddball paradigm. In children, the target stimuli that were preceded by a large number of standard stimuli elicited about twice as large P300 with a significantly shorter latency, a more widespread distribution, and an earlier positivity in the frontal area than those that were preceded by a small number of standard stimuli. The P300 variation was not as marked in adults as in children. Based on the context updating theory of the P300, the finding suggests that a long intertarget interval (ITI) results in a profound decay of the neural representation of the target stimulus in children; consequently, more resources are needed to update the neural representation, and the target may even be processed as a novel input. The P300 variation may provide information about the brain functions related to memory, attention, and orienting in children. This variation should be considered when assessing cognitive brain functions with event-related potentials in children.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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