AUDITORY VERTEX POTENTIAL IN CHILDREN - A COGNITIVE HYPOTHESIS

In children the early N1P2 response generated by an auditory oddball p aradigm is a compound negative potential with distinctive 165-ms tempo ral and 240-ms frontocentral components. As this configuration differs considerably from the adult response, it may be assumed that neural s ystems engaged in auditory attentional processes differ with age. It i s argued that the auditory vertex potential might index frontal lobe d evelopment and matching mechanisms. In combination with EEG spectral d ata this cognitive parameter could initiate an alternative approach to the evaluation and research of learning and attention deficit disorde rs.