Abstract
This review is aimed at exploring the usefulness of measuring event-related potential (ERP) in cognitive tests and discusses several applications of the ERP technique. Analysis of ERP components is one of the most informative dynamic methods of investigation and monitoring of information processing stages in the human brain. Amplitude and latency of ERP components at specified topographies reflect early sensory perception processes and higher level processing including attention, cortical inhibition, memory update, error monitoring, and other cognitive activities. ERPs provide a method of studying cognitive processes in typical subjects, as well as a sensitive instrument to assess differences in individuals with neuro- and psychopathologies. Despite significant advances in functional neuroimaging, the ERP measure still represents an important tool for brain research in psychiatry, as many psychiatric diseases correlate with certain altered patterns of ERPs. Such ERP alterations can serve as valid biological markers for functional diagnostic or for better understanding of the cognitive functions which are disturbed in psychiatric disorders. Application of ERPs in psychiatric treatment research is an approach aimed at validation of specific ERP measures as sensitive functional outcomes of experimental neuromodulation interventions such as rTMS and neurofeedback. Also discussed are additional aspects of ERP usefulness in psychiatry research and treatment.
Highlights
In addition to more traditional quantitative electroencephalography techniques, where EEG is assessed during resting conditions with eyes closed and eyes open, there is a recent trend towards a wider usage of event-related potential (ERP) recording methodology for research and clinical applications
Our review is confined to the use of ERP in cognitive neuroscience with a focus on several psychopathologies such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenia (SCZ) to name a few
In our studies on error monitoring in autism (Sokhadze, Baruth, El-Baz, et al, 2010; Sokhadze et al, 2012a; Sokhadze et al, 2012b) we showed that the ERN and the Pe component of the response-locked ERP were substantially decreased in children with autism as compared to typically developing (TD) controls and even as compared to children with ADHD
Summary
In addition to more traditional quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) techniques, where EEG is assessed during resting conditions with eyes closed and eyes open, there is a recent trend towards a wider usage of event-related potential (ERP) recording methodology for research and clinical applications. From the very early period of ERP application there were numerous studies aimed at association of the certain features of ERP waveforms (e.g., ERP components) with specific cognitive processes and further using them as biomarkers of the engagement of these cognitive processes This approach is based on prior knowledge about the functional significance of specific ERP components and is very useful for inferences about cognitive processes taking place during various experimental manipulations in typical controls and patients with psychiatric conditions. There are several measures used in ERP research, such as scalp topographic distribution, polarity (positive or negative), amplitude, latency, time course, and dipole source localization These ERP variables may provide important insight about perceptual, cognitive, and motor functions in normal and in psychopathological conditions. Considering the high temporal resolution and low costs of ERP technology, it is logical to assume that ERPs will remain an essential instrument in cognitive neuroscience, neurotherapy, and clinical neurophysiology
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