The NoGo-anteriorization as a neurophysiological standard-index for cognitive response control

Event related potentials (ERPs) during the Go- and the NoGo-condition of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) were applied to investigate the neurophysiological basis of cognitive response control. These conditions of the test represent the execution and the inhibition of an anticipated motor response. In a previous study, the comprehensive spatial analysis of the ERPs allowed to define a parameter which robustly reflected the anteriorization of the positive P300 field area during the NoGo- compared to the Go-condition (NoGo-anteriorisation, NGA). The result was found consistently in all investigated subjects. The present study replicated the finding in 27 healthy subjects without any exception. Moreover, the latencies were longer and the amplitudes showed a trend to be higher in the NoGo- compared to the Go-ERP. This is interpreted as a sign of higher processing demands in the NoGo-condition. In conclusion, the ability of the NGA to express reliably the differences of brain activity leading to execution or suppression of a prepared motor response qualifies this parameter as a topographical standard-index for cognitive response control. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.