Event related potentials during attention tasks in VLBW children with and without attention deficit disorder.
OBJECTIVE
Children born prematurely have a higher incidence of attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity. We have used visual event related potentials to study possible brain dysfunctions that could explain this higher incidence.


METHODS
Very low birth weight (VLBW) children with and without AD/HD and term born children with and without AD/HD, were matched for IQ, age and socio-economic status (n=41, mean age 104 months). A visual oddball paradigm, consisting of target and non-target stimuli, was used with analysis of response times, error scores, N200, P300 and a P500 component.


RESULTS
AD/HD children responded slower (F (1,38)=11.20, p<0.002); more varied (F (1,38)=21.77, p<0.000) and made more commission and omission errors (Kruskal-Wallis p<0.000). Non-target N200 was increased in amplitude (F (1.39)=4.01, p=0.05) with a wide anterior topography in children with AD/HD. The late positivity (P500) was decreased over central leads in children with AD/HD during the non-target stimuli (F (3,75)=3.00, p<0.036). No differences could be found in latency, amplitude or topography between VLBW children with AD/HD and term born children with AD/HD.


CONCLUSIONS
Prematurity does not induce specific attentional brain dysfunction or maturation delays in stimulus processing during cognitive tasks. Other factors should be investigated to explain the higher incidence of AD/HD in VLBW children.
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004585:Electrooculography; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time