Late Components of Event-Related Potentials Elicited by Reading Words in Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Differences in reading repeated/new words in adults are known to be reflected in the N400 and P600 components of event-related potentials (ERP), though the question of the functional significance of these components in the age-related trajectory of their development remains open. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the amplitudes and latencies of the N400 and P600 components in responses to repeated and new words in three age groups: preadolescent children (N = 25; age 9–11 years), adolescents (N = 17, age 12–14 years), and adults (N = 22, age 18–36 years). Age-related differences in amplitudes were seen for the N400 component averaged for leads F3, Fz, F4, C3, Cz, and C4 and the P600 component averaged for leads P3, Pz, and P4, while no differences in latency were seen. Comparison of the amplitudes of averaged ERP to repeated and new words identified differences in all age groups: in children in the time interval 750–850 msec, in adolescents in the time interval 650–750 msec, and in adults in the interval 600–800 msec. P600 amplitude in all age groups was greater in responses to repeated than to new words. In the case of N400, differences in responses to repeated and new words were seen only among adults, where latency to new words was shorter than latency to repeated words. The process of comparing new and previously presented verbal and visual information is evidently a multistage process. These stages are formed at different points of ontogeny and are reflected to different extents in the various ERP components. Differences between repeated and new words initially appeared in the P600 component: the pattern of differences at age 12–14 years was analogous to that in adults. At the same time, there were no differences in the N400 component in childhood and adolescence, these being present only in adults. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.