EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF DEMENTIA

The endogenous components of EEG potentials are introduced, focussing on the P3 (or P300) component. Thereafter, two studies are reported. The first study deals with the question why P3's latency gets delayed in healthy elderly subjects. The results suggest that the delay is not due to problems of perception but rather reflects a slowing of central processes. The second study describes the potentials of mildly demented Alzheimer patients, evoked in two different tasks. The deviant features found in the patients' potentials may indicate that information processing is interrupted between perception and response initiation. In sum, these components may be helpful for diagnosis. In addition, by offering the great advantage of providing a real-time account of information processing, these components may contribute to a deeper understanding of healthy and pathological processing.