| Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
The integration in a multidisciplinary team in the "Serviço de Neurofisiologia do Hospital Geral de Santo António do Porto" enabled the contribution in one of the research lines that a is to study procedures to quantify Cerebral Activity. The study of long latency potentials is a method of investigation of the Central Nervous System, especially on the cognitive information processing. The discrimination of a random stimulus in a sequence of auditory rhythmic stimulus generates a potential whose basic wave is the P300 (or ERP300). We tested if the amplitude and the latency of the ERP300, determined in scalp, keep their general characteristics overtime, analysing the variations in terms of place, when sequentially determined, at fixed intervals of time, in young adults and in stable situations. We used the oddball paradigm to generate the ERP300, stimulated by a set of 50 stimulus. The potentials were registered on the scalp (Fz, Cz, C3 and C4). We have studied 30 healthy subjects (not taking drugs). Each subject was studied each time in two different trials. The record was repeated in the same day (morning and afternoon) within a six-hour interval. The same procedure was repeated, under the same conditions, one week later. The analysis of data fulfilled using an Analysis of Variance of Repeated Measures. We find variations statistically significative in terms of the place in the scalp for the latency and the amplitude of the ERP300. It was verified that the amplitude of the first trial is always greater than to the second. The stimulation is earlier recognized in Cz. ERP300 response was attenuated with test repetition.
Relatively to the sex its main effect did not show statistically significant differences. Thus, this analysis allowed us to assume that there is no evidence to reject the ERP 300 stability over time, suggesting individual stability of the answers of the ERP300.
In contrast to the ERPs, there are dynamic changes in the spontaneous EEG, which are also related to an event, considered as induced des- or syncronization of the cerebral activity (ERD/ERS).
Therefore, the study's aim was to test the cerebral activity in various places of the scalp, bearing in mind non-synchronisation (ERD)/synchronisation (ERS), and to define temporal spaces in ordinary subjects for further comparison with groups with diverse pathologies. Our contribution was based on the establishment of the protocol of acquisition of data and methodology of preparation and validation of data for analysis.
The Model of Analysis of Variance of Repeated Measures has had far reaching applications in the study of the Cerebral Activity analysis. Therefore, it will be used in future analyses that we will elaborate for Quantification of Cerebral Activity, namely in the analysis of desynchronization(ERD)/synchronization(ERS) the EEG signal. This work contains a brief description of statistical models of Analysis of Variance and a discussion of the statistical models as well as their respective assumptions.
|