Sj. Johnstone et Rj. Barry, An investigation of the event-related slow-wave potential (0.01-2 Hz) in normal children, INT J PSYCP, 32(1), 1999, pp. 15-34
Previous research has indicated that the auditory ERPs of children are domi
nated by a frontal negative slow-wave. This paper outlines a preliminary at
tempt to separate event-related low-frequency activity from traditional ERP
components as found in older subjects. An active auditory oddball task was
completed by 30 normal children aged from 8 to 18 years, and ERPs to targe
t and standard stimuli were derived. The original ERP files were digitally
filtered to calculate separate ERPs containing only 0.01-2 Hz activity (ter
med the SW-ERP) or 2-12 Hz activity (termed the RESIDUAL ERP) for each subj
ect. The SW-ERP was maximally correlated with the slow-wave factor from a p
rincipal components analysis of the original target and standard waveforms.
The SW-ERPs to target stimuli contained an early negative component which
showed an age-related decrease, and a late positive component which did not
. The SW-ERP was found to be partly responsible for the differences in comp
onent amplitude and morphology between sites observed in the raw ERPs. (C)
1999 Elsevier Science B.V. Al rights reserved.