Middle-latency auditory evoked potentials in children at high risk for alcoholism

Purpose. In the course of a high-risk study for alcoholism, the middle-late ncy auditory evoked potentials (MAEPs) of children of alcoholics were explo red. Material and Methods. A series of auditory clicks (0.1 ms, 60 dB SL, 1 .1/s) were used to record the Pa and Pb peaks of the MAEPs in 15 children o f alcoholics with a multigenerational family history of alcoholism, and 17 control subjects, ranging from 10 to 14 years of age. Results. The latency of Pb was shorter in the high-risk than in the control group, and there was also a significant risk group by age interaction on Pa latency. The amplit ude of Pa was smaller in the children or alcoholics. Conclusions. The chara cteristics of the MAEPs of the high-risk subjects did not match the pattern of abnormalities previously observed in chronic alcoholics, which are supp osed to be a consequence of the neurotoxic effects of ethanol. Nonetheless, the results showed significant differences in MAEPs between children or al coholics and controls. pointing to an anomalous pattern of information tran smission from thalamus to cortex that should be further analyzed using larg er samples in a broader age range. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medic ales Elsevier SAS.