Task related changes in contingent negative variation (CNV) response of endogenous evoked potentials

Contingent negative variation (CNV) is a slow negative cortical potential shift, which occurs during a warned foreperiod reaction time paradigm. Most studies of evoked potentials have concentrated on components occurring during the first 300 msec, although there are important and recordable aspects of signal processing occurring well beyond 300 msec e.g. late negative slow wave. CNV has proven sensitive to a number of psychological variables, none of which can yet be singled out as a definitive or exclusive correlate. Changes are expected if measured after a rigorous mental exercise. CNV was measured in 20 normal male subjects aged between 18 and 20 years. CNV was recorded twice in each subject before and after the administration of a mental task. The auditory mental task comprised repeating in reverse order string of random digits read out to the subject at a uniform speed of 1 per second. The visual mental task comprised reading laterally inverted type written text. Each subject had to undergo 2 sessions in separate sittings. The latency and amplitude of waves N1, P3, orientation (O), expectancy (E), CNV, reaction time (RT) were recorded. These values recorded before and after the task were compared statistically using student's unpaired t-test. The significant latencies recorded before and after the auditory task were, N1: 88.00 +/- 11.96 and 100.00 +/- 21.52 msec, P3: 289.00 +/- 54.85 and 299.00 +/- 52.91 msec, reaction time (RT): 102 +/- 17.05 msec and 123 +/- 17.5 msec, and in case of visual task, N1: 88 +/- 13.16 msec and 99.00 +/- 16.51 msec, reaction time (RT): 107 +/- 11.74 msec and 127 +/- 13.42 msec respectively. All other CNV wave latencies and amplitude changes were insignificant. Hence task effects sensory perception as reflected by increased latency of the long latency response N1 and the cortical integrative processes resulting in increased reaction time.