Age dynamics of evoked brain potentials in involuntary and voluntary attention to a deviant stimulus in schoolchildren from the northern region.

The central mechanisms of involuntary and voluntary regulation of attention in schoolchildren from the northern region were studied using a method based on the P300 wave of evoked brain potentials (the oddball paradigm). Data were compared with results obtained from psychological tests. Differences in the organization of EP were seen in the "passive" and active (counting) perception of deviant stimuli. Three components were identified within the time envelop of the P300 wave, two of which dominated in the frontal and one in the parietal area of the cerebral cortex. The latency of the P300 wave decreased with age in the children, reflecting increased rates of information processing and increases in the volume of operative memory. In passive perception, the statistical relationship characterized by a reduction in P300 latency with age was significant for leads in the central, temporal, parietal, and occipital areas; in active perception, this applied to all areas including the frontal. The most significant changes in P300 parameters were seen in children aged from seven to 12 years, indicating that this period can be regarded as "critical" in the development of learning skills. The roles of the parietal and frontal areas of the cortex in the mechanisms of involuntary and voluntary regulation of attention are discussed, along with the possibility of using the P300 method to identify children with delayed rates of development of voluntary attention in population studies.