Event-related potentials in people at risk for vascular dementia

• Published in: International journal of psychophysiology 2006, Vol.59 (1), p.40-48
• Main Authors: Mecklinger, Axel, König, Stefanie, Ruffing, Nicole, Reith, Wolfgang, Müller, Martin, Kaul, Harald, Becker, Georg, Röll, Eva-Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acoustic Stimulation - methods; Adult; Aged; Analysis of Variance; Arteriovenous cerebral transit time (cTT); Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Dementia, Vascular - pathology; Dementia, Vascular - physiopathology; Electroencephalography - methods; Electrooculography - methods; Electrophysiology; Event-related potentials (ERP); Evoked Potentials - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Hypertension; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data; Old/new effect; P300; P3a; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reaction Time - physiology; Risk; Statistics as Topic; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial - methods; Vascular dementia; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system
• ISSN: 0167-8760; 1872-7697
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2005.06.009

This study examined the relationship between the integrity of cerebrovascular microcirculation, neuropsychological testing and event-related potential indices of cognitive functioning in a nonclinical group of participants being at risk for vascular dementia. Sonographic measures, magnetic resonance (MR) scans and ERPs were recorded in 30 participants treated for arterial hypertension, with no report of neurological or psychiatric disorders. As a sonographic measure of cerebral microcirculation, the arteriorvenous cerebral transit time (cTT) was recorded. While neuropsychological measures of memory functions and general mental ability functions did not show systematic correlations with the cTT and other measures of vascular pathology, a pronounced correlation was obtained between P3a latency and cTT. Participants with long cTT showed a delayed P3a. These findings suggest that the P3a is a sensitive measure for reduced cognitive functions even at early stages of cerebrovascular pathology and by this may be a valuable tool for the early identification of cognitive deficits in individuals being at risk for vascular dementia.