Affiliations: Department of Neurology I.C., Oasi Institute for
Research on Mental Retardation and Brain Aging (IRCCS), Troina, Italy
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. A. Raggi, Department of Neurology
I.C., Oasi Institute (IRCCS), Via Conte Ruggero 73, 94018 Troina, Italy. Tel.:
+39 935 936111; Fax: +39 935 936694; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Complex higher-order cognitive functions and their possible changes
with aging are mandatory objectives of cognitive neuroscience. Event-related
potentials (ERPs) allow investigators to probe the earliest stages of
information processing. N100, Mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a are auditory
ERP components that reflect automatic sensory discrimination. The aim of the
present study was to determine if N100, MMN and P3a parameters are stable in
healthy aged subjects, compared to those of normal young adults. Normal young
adults and older participants were assessed using standardized cognitive
functional instruments and their ERPs were obtained with an auditory
stimulation at two different interstimulus intervals, during a passive
paradigm. All individuals were within the normal range on cognitive tests. No
significant differences were found for any ERP parameters obtained from the two
age groups. This study shows that aging is characterized by a stability of the
auditory discrimination and novelty processing. This is important for the
arrangement of normative for the detection of subtle preclinical changes due to
abnormal brain aging.
Keywords: Normal aging, event-related potentials, ERPs, auditory discrimination, novelty processing
