Relationship between early and late stages of information processing: an event-related potential study.
The brain is capable of elaborating and executing different stages of information processing. However, exactly how these stages are processed in the brain remains largely unknown. This study aimed to analyze the possible correlation between early and late stages of information processing by assessing the latency to, and amplitude of, early and late event-related potential (ERP) components, including P200, N200, premotor potential (PMP) and P300, in healthy participants in the context of a visual oddball paradigm. We found a moderate positive correlation among the latency of P200 (electrode O2), N200 (electrode O2), PMP (electrode C3), P300 (electrode PZ) and the reaction time (RT). In addition, moderate negative correlation between the amplitude of P200 and the latencies of N200 (electrode O2), PMP (electrode C3), P300 (electrode PZ) was found. Therefore, we propose that if the secondary processing of visual input (P200 latency) occurs faster, the following will also happen sooner: discrimination and classification process of this input (N200 latency), motor response processing (PMP latency), reorganization of attention and working memory update (P300 latency), and RT. N200, PMP, and P300 latencies are also anticipated when higher activation level of occipital areas involved in the secondary processing of visual input rise (P200 amplitude).
Brain Mapping and Sensory Motor Integration, Institute of Psychiatry of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; ; Faculty of Physical Therapy, UNI-ABEU, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
Claudio
C
Portella
Sergio
S
Machado
Oscar
O
Arias-Carrión
Alexander T
AT
Sack
Julio Guilherme
JG
Silva
Marco
M
Orsini
Marco Antonio Araujo
MA
Leite
Adriana Cardoso
AC
Silva
Antonio E
AE
Nardi
Mauricio
M
Cagy
Roberto
R
Piedade
Pedro
P
Ribeiro
N200; P200; P300.; decision making; event-related potentials