Cortical evoked potentials and psychopathology. A critical review.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H Begleiter.
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There is substantial information supporting the role of genetic factors in the susceptibility for alcohol dependence. However, the identification of specific genes that contribute to this predisposition has proven elusive, although several theoretically relevant candidates, e.g. DRD2 or 5-HT(1B), have been considered. The difficulty in identifying specific genes may be related to the clinical heterogeneity of the disorder resulting in a poorly defined phenotype for genetic analysis. An alternative approach to the use of a diagnostic phenotype for identifying alcoholism susceptibility genes may lie in the examination of the neurobiological correlates of the disorder, the so-called endophenotypes. One possible endophenotype of alcohol dependence may be related to the P300 waveform of the event-related brain potential (ERP). Using data obtained from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), a multi-site family-based study, the utility of P300 amplitude as an endophentype was examined. Differences in P300 amplitude were found between alcoholics and nonalcoholics, between unaffected relatives of alcoholics and relatives of controls, as well as between unaffected offspring of alcoholic fathers and offspring of controls. A genetic analysis indicated that attributes of the P(3) ERP waveform are heritable, and a quantitative trait locus analysis found linkage to several chromosomal regions. These data provide significant support for P300 as an endophenotype for alcohol dependence.
The preattentive automatic processing of 63 alcoholics and 27 controls was evaluated with an auditory inattentive event-related oddball paradigm. We examined the mismatch negativity and the N2-P3 complex. Results showed significantly greater amplitude for N2, P3 and the N2-P3 complex for controls but no individual lead (Fz, Cz, Pz) differences by group. A group-by-lead interaction was found for N2 and for the N2-P3 complex. There were no significant latency differences between groups; however, a significant age-by-group interaction effect on latency was greatest at the Cz electrode. Results reflect a possible aberration of automatic processing in alcoholics because of a defect in the mnemonic template necessary to match with an infrequent deviant stimuli. We also found suggestive evidence of a relative weakness of frontal cortical organization in alcoholics. Future studies are suggested that would help clarify these differences in alcoholics.
The P3(00) event-related potential (ERP) was elicited in 80 normal, right-handed male subjects using a simple auditory stimulus discrimination task, with electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded at 19 electrodes. P300 amplitude was larger over the right compared to left hemisphere electrode sites primarily at anterior-medial locations (F3/4, C3/4) for both target and standard stimuli. The N100, P200, and N200 components also demonstrated several similar, albeit less robust, hemispheric asymmetries. No hemispheric effects for P300 latency were observed, with few consistent latency findings for any of the other components obtained. The results suggest that the discrimination process underlying P300 generation may originate with right frontal activation.
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We have previously found that the P3 component of the event-related potential (ERP) is reduced in alcoholics in visual target-selection paradigms. P3 voltage depends on the "subjective significance" of the stimulus (e.g., task relevance, probability of occurrence, motivational factors). We were interested in assessing P3s in alcoholics to motivationally significant stimuli that did not differ with respect to other aspects of significance. Equiprobable, task-relevant visual stimuli with different acquired incentive values were presented to alcoholics under baseline and two incentive conditions. Alcoholics manifested similar lower P3 voltages without P3 latency delays to all stimuli, regardless of incentive values. Latency Corrected Averages indicated that these results were not due to latency jitter in the averages. These results suggest multiple system deficits in alcoholics, perhaps in involving frontal and/or medial temporal lobe, the brain sources implicated in the generation of P3. Our results perhaps reflect a deficit in motivational-cognitive systems in alcoholics, possibly affecting their ability to actively sustain information processing.
We have previously reported P3 decrements in boys at risk for alcoholism in a complex visual rotation reaction time task. The present study investigated the generalizability of these observations by studying a new high risk sample of boys of Type 2 alcoholic fathers under different experimental conditions. The current experimental design consisted of an easy auditory oddball task (P3) which stressed accuracy over speed of responding, and which also included variable interstimulus intervals (0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 sec), allowing recovery functions to be derived from the evoked responses to frequent non-target stimuli. The results did not yield statistically significant differences between groups in the recovery function data. However the baseline-to-peak results to the target stimulus indicated significant decreases in both P2 and P3 amplitudes in the high risk boys. No differences in latency were obtained between groups. Furthermore frequency analysis of responses to the target stimulus using a multivariate time series model indicated between-group differences at 4 frequencies (1.43, 7.14, 8.6 and 11.43 Hz). These results replicate our previous findings of P3 decrements in boys at risk for alcoholism in a new sample of sons of Type 2 alcoholics. As we have now made these observations with different experimental conditions and sensory modalities, it is suggested that these findings are generalizable.
Visual event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to easy and difficult line orientation discriminations in high risk (HR) and low risk (LR) males between the ages of 19-24. The amplitude of the P3 component was significantly smaller in HR compared to LR males to all target stimuli. This result was more pronounced for the easy target. No differences in the latency of P3 were reported between groups. These results were obtained prior to the administration of alcohol and replicate our own findings and those of other laboratories with a different experimental paradigm.
The P300 component of the event-related potential is reduced in both abstinent alcoholics and in males at high risk for developing alcoholism. Here, 96 males (mean = 22.1 years) who were part of an interlaboratory (n = 6) consistency study in the national COGA (Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism) Project were subjects in a visual target selection paradigm. Each of the participating laboratories used the same experimental design, hardware and software. Each subject received a randomized series of target, nontarget and novel visual stimuli, and upon detecting the target stimulus, was required to make a button press as quickly as possible. Statistical analyses indicated that there were no significant differences in P300 amplitude and latency at the Pz electrode under any of the aforementioned conditions across laboratories. Thus, the interlaboratory consistency of the visual P300 indicates that it may be of utility in a national collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism.
The present investigation examined auditory evoked potential (AEP) recovery functions in both high-risk (HR, N = 23, mean = 22.3) and low-risk (LR, N = 27, mean = 23.0) males. A series of binaural auditory stimuli, with randomly interposed interstimulus intervals (ISIs) of 0.5, 1.0, and 10.0 s, were used to elicit the N1 and P2 components of the AEP. Scalp potentials were recorded from the 19 electrodes comprising the 10/20 International System. For purposes of statistical analysis, five electrode groups were created: frontal (F), central (C), parietal (P), occipital (O), and temporal (T). The results of within-group MANOVA demonstrated that in both LR and HR individuals, increases in the ISI produced significant N1 and P2 amplitude increases without significant latency differences. These amplitude increases occurred primarily in the F and C regions. However, the results of between-group MANOVA indicated that there were no differences in the recovery functions of the two risk groups. Our results indicate that in both LR and HR individuals, recovery functions are responsive to changes in increasing ISI. However, they did not effectively discriminate between risk groups. It is speculated that risk group differences may be apparent with the use of an ethanol challenge.