[Cerebral inhibitory functioning in patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. I. Analysis of non-target-P300 component in a visual oddball paradigm].

The present study was organized to evaluate the cerebral inhibitory function in children with developmental disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Target and non-target-P300 event related potential (ERP) in response to stimuli of a visual oddball paradigm was analyzed. Ten children with AD/HD, 10 children with PDD and 10 healthy children were included in the study participants. Target-P300 component was observed in all subjects, which showed predominant amplitudes in Pz electrode. No significant differences were observed in amplitude and latency of target-P300 among three groups. In healthy children, Non-target-P300 component was observed mainly in Cz and Pz electrodes, while children with AD/HD had significantly reduced amplitudes of the component at Cz and children with PDD showed shorter latency at Oz. These results suggest that Non-target-P300 component in visual oddball paradigm possibly reflects the brain function associated with inhibitory processing and there is a relationship between the non-target-P300 potential abnormality and the AD/HD behavior.