Childhood Developmental Changes in the Auditory P300

Abstract

In this study we investigated developmental changes in the auditory P3 latency from childhood to adolescence. Event-related potentials evoked by improbable auditory stimuli were recorded from 35 normal children between the ages of 5 and 13 years. Regression analyses showed significant age trends in the auditory P3 latency. Latencies decreased at a rapid rate (Cz: 20.34 msec/yr; Pz: 19.27 msec/yr) from childhood to adolescence, suggesting an increased efficiency in processing information as children mature. This rate was linear or constant in nature as evidenced by the failure of the quadratic and cubic components to significantly increase predictability of the regression equation. The slope of the P3 latency/age regression line was also shown to be influenced by the interactive effects of task difficulty and maturation. It was hypothesized that neuro-developmental processes (increased myelination and dendritic arborization) may underlie the maturational changes observed in the P3 latency during childhood.