[Age dependent maturation of NC-ERP].
BACKGROUND
Neutral condition event related potentials (NC-ERP) are not suitable for differentiating between children suffering from auditory processing disorders (APD) alone and APD-children with attention deficit disorder. Other factors beside severity of APD may cause "pathological" NC-ERP. Here we raise the question of whether maturational factors may be responsible for disordered NC-ERP.


METHODS
NC-ERP data from 142 APD children (range 5.4-17.2 years; mean 9.8 years) were analysed. Data were grouped according to age of children (I: <7.11 years n=34; II: 8.0-9.11 years n=46; III: 10.0-11.11 years n=39; IV: >12.0 years n=23).


RESULTS
Pathological NC-ERP were found in 82.3% (group I), 56.6% (group II), 46.2% (group III) and 8.8% (group IV). Additional analyses confirmed no correlation with ADHD.


CONCLUSIONS
Although there is a whole body of evidence that late auditory evoked potential may mature with age, it is not known if NC-ERP are also age dependent. Our results that NC-ERP mature with age are consistent with data for other late auditory evoked potentials. Since normative date of NC-ERP for different age groups are still lacking, NC-ERP results in children should be interpreted very cautiously.
Klinik und Poliklinik für Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover. Ptok.martin@MH-hannover.de
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Ptok
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Blachnik
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Schönweiler
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D001300:Audiometry, Evoked Response; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity