title: Temporal lobe impairment in West syndrome: event-related potential evidence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigates auditory processing in infants with West syndrome (WS) using event-related potentials (ERPs).
  
  
  METHODS
  ERPs were measured in 25 infants with mainly symptomatic WS (age range = 3-10 months) and 26 healthy term infants (age range = 3-9 months) using an auditory novelty oddball paradigm. The ERP recordings were made during wakefulness and repeated in stage II sleep.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The obligatory components (P150, N250, P350) and novelty response components (P300, Nc) were recordable during both sleep and wakefulness in patients and controls. All ERP latencies decreased with age in controls but not in the WS group (age × group interaction, F = 22.3, p < 0.0001). These ERP latency alterations were not affected by pharmacological treatment for WS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated a persistently altered ERP signature in patients with a recent history of infantile spasms. The prolongation of auditory obligatory and novelty ERPs in WS patients indicates a severe failure of temporal lobe maturation during infancy. It remains to be investigated whether this predicts long-term cognitive impairments characteristic for this epileptic encephalopathy.
authors.affiliation: Young Epilepsy, Surrey, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children National Health Service Trust, London; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children National Health Service Trust, London; Clinical Neurosciences, University College London Institute of Child Health, London.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: Tangunu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fosi
authors.forename: Stewart G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baldeweg
authors.forename: Rod C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Brian G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Neville
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000187:drug effects; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*