The application of P300 to diagnosing attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder in children

Objective Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood behavior disorder, there are no reliable physiological and biochemical measures to contribute to the objective diagnosis. The aim of this study is to explore the application of P300 in the clinical diagnosis of ADHD.Methods 30 children with ADHD (study group) and 45 normal children (as controls) aged 8.5～11.5 years were tested with Amplaid MK 15 electrophysiological diagnostic system. Auditory 'Oddball' paradigm was used in the P300 recordings. The amplitudes and latencies of N1, P2, N2, P3 responses to the rare stimuli and N1, P2, N2 responses to the frequent stimuli in the two groups were observed.Results The P300 latency in the study group was significantly longer than that in the control group (P0.01); the clinical diagnostic value of P300 latency was 370 ms. Its suspicious diagnostic range was 350 ms～370 ms. Its specialty was 84.5 % and sensitivity was 66.7 %.Conclusions P300 latency measures , which was used to evaluate the cognitive dysfunction in children with ADHD, might be helpful in the clinical diagnosis of ADHD in children. This method is simple ,objective and well cooperated by the children and provides the neurophysiological base for the diagnosis of ADHD.