Auditory event-related potentials in adolescents at risk for drug abuse.
We evaluated sensory and cognitive information processing in noninstitutionalized delinquent male adolescents and in age-matched low delinquency controls. Detailed psychometric testing documented the nature of the aggressive behavior of these young men. Deficits in information processing, as assessed by event-related potential (ERP) techniques, were observed at several levels of the auditory system in the delinquent group. The delinquent group showed delays in wave V of the brainstem auditory evoked potential, shorter N100 latency, and decreased slow wave amplitude of cognitive event-related potentials when subjects were asked to perform a mental task in a noisy environment. It remains to be determined whether or not such information-processing deficiencies are common among delinquent populations and how they might influence the development of delinquent behavior and drug abuse.
Herning
R I
RI
Addiction Research Center, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD 21224.
Hickey
J E
JE
Pickworth
W B
WB
Jaffe
J H
JH
D000293:Adolescent; D001143:Arousal; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010556:Personality Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*