Diagnostic Value of Event-Related Evoked Potentials N200 and P300 Subcomponents in Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

Event-related potentials (ERPs) have a large application in the evaluation of cognitive processes, particularly in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of event-related evoked potentials (N2 and P3 subcomponents) in early diagnosis of AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We prospectively studied 60 subjects. They all underwent the following investigations: neurologic and neuropsychological examination; functional evaluation, i.e., ERPs; cerebral imagery (morphologic and functional). Subjects were classified into 3 groups: group 1: 30 dementia of Alzheimer type (NINCDS-ADRDA, DSM-IV criteria); group 2: 20 MCI; and group 3: 10 control subjects. ERPs were significantly different between the groups (AD, MCI, control subjects), with a marked increase of P3 latencies, particularly when compared with N2 latencies (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, sensitivity was 87% to 95% for the differentiation of AD patients from MCI and control subjects, using prolonged P3 latencies (specificity, 90% to 95%), whereas using N2 prolonged latencies, sensitivity was 70% to 75% (specificity, 70% to 90%). Moreover, in the MCI group, N2 latencies strongly discriminated MCI from control subjects, with 90% sensitivity and 70% specificity and correctly categorized 80% of MCI subjects against 73% for P3. The abnormalities of N2 and P3 components may be linked, in AD and MCI, to an alteration of automatic and controlled attention processing.

The Role of Physical Fitness in the Neurocognitive Performance of Task Switching in Older Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment

“…Importantly, the improved cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with improved executive function for aMCI women [48]. These substantial findings suggest that although elderly people with aMCI had declines in executive control processes as a function of neuropathological aging [20,29,[33][34][35], they still exhibited cognitive and neural plasticity and their task-switching deficits appear amendable to an intervention based on increased physical activity.…”

“…Several reports over the past decade described the potential diagnostic importance of electrophysiological markers of cognitive decline in patients with MCI and the preclinical stage of AD, as obtained by analysis of the electroencephalography-derived event-related potentials (ERPs) [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. For example, the ERP P2, N2, and P3 components are recognized as effective electrophysiological indices in the early stage of MCI diagnosis [20][21][22][23], as MCI subjects have prolonged P2, N2, and P3 latencies, and reduced P3 amplitudes, compared to healthy elderly controls [20,[24][25][26]. Even specific to the MCI subgroups [e.g., amnestic MCI (aMCI)], these ERP components may also be useful for observing the differences in cognitive processes from those of the healthy elderly [20,24,27,28], and to distinguish the different MCI subtypes (e.g., aMCI versus nonaMCI) [29].…”

“…For example, the ERP P2, N2, and P3 components are recognized as effective electrophysiological indices in the early stage of MCI diagnosis [20][21][22][23], as MCI subjects have prolonged P2, N2, and P3 latencies, and reduced P3 amplitudes, compared to healthy elderly controls [20,[24][25][26]. Even specific to the MCI subgroups [e.g., amnestic MCI (aMCI)], these ERP components may also be useful for observing the differences in cognitive processes from those of the healthy elderly [20,24,27,28], and to distinguish the different MCI subtypes (e.g., aMCI versus nonaMCI) [29]. ERP components may thus be sensitive enough to identify elderly patients with early cognitive decline or disease progression to MCI and/or AD.…”

Cognitive Functions Changes Among Egyptian Sewage Network Workers

“…Of the major waves observed in the ERPs (N200, P300 and Slow Wave), P300 component corresponds to mental processes such as recognition, categorization of stimuli, expectancy or short-term memory while there are many regions in the brain, especially in the temporal lobe, the parietal lobe and the hippocampus which are thought to be responsible for its generation (Bennys et al,2007). …”

P300 as an auxiliary method in clinical practice: A review of literature

“…P300 testing has been demonstrated to be a method of choice in differential diagnostic assessment of neurological and psychiatric diseases (Table 1). Clinical research showed significant changes in P300 parameters, such as lowered amplitude and extended latency, in patients with dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and mild cognitive impairment [MCI] (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). A smaller number of studies indicated changes in P300 in patients with epilepsy, and in those taking antiepileptic drugs (10,20).…”