BRAIN MRI AND COGNITIVE EVOKED-POTENTIALS IN RURAL CHRONICALLY UNDERNOURISHED CHILDREN

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cognitive evoked potentials were studied in 21 (10-13 year of age) rural undernourished children (2 wer e female). 17 healthy age and sex matched volunteers. Their neurologic al examination was normal and all were right handed. Three undernouris hed and 2 control children had hyperintense signals on T2 in MRI. The anterior and posterior hemispheric asymmetry was less pronounced in un dernourished children (P< 0.01). P3 latency although was normal but th e amplitudes of P2 and P3 were higher in the study group in all deriva tions (P<0.01), This is consistent with a compensatory phenomenon foll owing earlier nutritional deprivation.