Abstract
Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of conduct disorder
problems, family history, gender, and age on P300 electroencephalographic potentials
in teenagers.
Methods: The 257 subjects, aged 15 to 20 years, were assigned to one of twelve groups
defined by the crossing of three between-subjects factors: 1) gender; 2) ranking below
vs above the median number of conduct disorder problems for their gender; and 3) no
family history of alcohol or drug dependence vs familial alcohol dependence vs familial
heroin or cocaine dependence.
Results: P300 amplitude was smaller among subjects reporting a greater number of conduct
problems prior to age 15 vs those reporting fewer problems of this type. No family
history effects were detected. Another set of analyses examined the effects of age
on conduct problem-related decrements in P300. Smaller P300 amplitudes within the
posterior scalp region were associated with a greater number of conduct problems among
subjects younger than 16.5 years. Among subjects greater than this median age, the
effects of these behaviors were only apparent over the frontal scalp.
Conclusions: It is concluded that P300 decrements previously attributed to familial
alcohol/substance dependence might be the result of a coincident increase in the prevalence
of conduct disorder problems. The analysis of age interactions suggests that P300
amplitude decrements observed at posterior scalp sites among subjects with more conduct
problems disappear at approximately 16 to 17 years of age. After that age, decrements
in frontal brain function may begin to emerge in the subset of conduct problem subjects
who are at risk for developing adult antisocial personality disorder.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
September 29,
1998
Received in revised form:
July 7,
1998
Received in revised form:
September 23,
1998
Received:
May 11,
1998
Identification
Copyright
© 1999 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
