Using the P300 Potential for the Analysis of Cognitive Functions in Children

In 84 healthy 5- to 15-year-old children, we studied the cognitive components of the evoked potentials elicited by acoustic stimulation, the P300 wave generated after presentation of a sign stimulus requiring the performance of sensorimotor reaction. We found a linear dependence of the peak latency of the P300 on the age of the tested persons (the latencies decreased with age). The amplitude of the P300 wave exhibited no clear dependence on the age (obviously, this parameter to a greater extent depends on other factors).