Effects of carbamazepine and valproate on long-latency auditory event-related potentials

Abstract

Seizure patients on anticonvulsant monotherapy were studied with long-latency auditory event-related potentials (ERPs). Twenty non-epileptic controls were compared with 10 patients taking carbamazepine (CBZ) and 13 patients taking valproate (VPA). Patients taking CBZ had significantly longer N1 and NII latencies than controls or patients on VPA. These findings suggest that CBZ and VPA may have differential effects on the hippocampal and limbic structures, which are thought to generate ERPs and may be related to the effects of antiepileptic drugs and behavior. No significant differences were noted between controls or patient groups in latency of the PII or PIII components.