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Abstract
Effects of aging on P3 components of somatosensory event-related potentials (ERPs) under different stimulus conditions were studied in healthy subjects using conventional averages and single-trial waveform analysis.
The P3 component elicited by target stimuli (target P3) and that elicited by rare nontarget stimuli (nontarget P3) showed significant latency prolongation with age at the rate of 1.6 and 2.0 ms/year, respectively.
The nontarget P3 showed a greater trial-to-trial fluctuation of single-trial latency than the target P3, probably because ‘passive attention’ was more liable to fluctuate. The variabilities of single-trial target P3 latency and of single-trial nontarget P3 latency were not correlated with age. Thus, the P3 latency prolongation with age might not be attributable to fluctuaion in latency resulting from impairment of attention with aging.