THE RELIABILITY OF ERP COMPONENTS IN THE AUDITORY ODDBALL PARADIGM

Nineteen adolescents (average age 15 years, 3 months) were tested and retested using a standard 40 target, auditory oddball ERP paradigm acr oss an interval of 1 year, 10 months to determine reliability of the E RP components, both in terms of intersubject stability and score agree ment and in terms of trait (between-session reliability) versus state (within-session reliability). Significant trait stability was found fo r the N100, P200, and P300 latencies (r = .48, .51, and .74, respectiv ely), and for P300 amplitude (r = .62), supporting the P300 as a relia ble measure, with the stability required for group research but not ne cessarily for clinical applications. Discussion and examples illustrat e the application of reliability information to the planning and evalu ation of ERP paradigms.