LONG-LATENCY EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS (P300) IN GIFTED-CHILDREN

In children, P3 latency decreases with increasing age. This decrease c ould be linked with the maturation of cognitive processes. According t o this hypothesis, event-related potentials P3 were recording in gifte d children to research an electrophysiological correlation with the me ntal precocity. Auditory long latency event-related potentials were re corded in 10 gifted children (IQs over 140) and 23 control subjects. T he part of variance related to age was extracted by comparing deviatio ns from regression line as a function of age. Stimulus-evoked N1 compo nent latency was not statistically different in the two populations. E vent-related P3 component latency was significantly shorter in the gif ted children at Cz (P<0.05). Inter-peak interval N1-P3 was significant ly shorter at all three recording sites (P<0.01 at Fz and CZ, P<0.02 a t Pz). These results suggest a relationship between the P3 component a nd cognitive ability in children.