Correlation of the characteristics of evoked EEG potentials with individual peculiarities of attention in children

We studied correlations of the main parameters of evoked EEG potentials (EP) with individual characteristics of attention in children and teenagers. One hundred and one healthy children (dextrals) took part in the tests. Among them, 26 and 30 children were 5 to 7 and 10 to 12 years old, while the third age group included 45 teenagers (15 to 16 years old). We recorded EP and measured the time of a sensorimotor reaction in the following experimental paradigm. Its program provided automated presentation of a pair of acoustic signals, preliminary and imperative; the subject had to perform a motor reaction, pushing a button with the right thumb, with a minimum delay after the second stimulus. Visual feedback signals informed the subject about the successful or inadequate performance of the reaction (time of reaction was shorter than or exceeded a limit value). Indices characterizing the level of attention were estimated using Find and delete and Schultes tables techniques. A well-manifested N2 component of the EP related to the preliminary signal was a specific feature in the group of 5- to 7-year-old children, while the contingent negative variation (CNV) preceding the motor reaction was poorly developed in this group. The best characteristics of attention in these and older (10 to 12 years old) children were typical of subjects with maximally expressed N1-P2 waves. In teenagers, the best attention was typical of subjects with the highest-amplitude P1 and P2 components, CNV, and P300 wave and with the lowest amplitude of the N1 component.Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 313–321, July–August, 2004.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.