Scopolamine effects on visual information processing, attention, and event-related potential map latencies

We measured performance and event-related brain potential (ERP) map latencies in 12 subjects during four visual discrimination tasks to compare the timing of scopolamine effects on information processing and attention. "Topographic component recognition" found ERP map latencies at times of best fit with a component model map. This "common topography" criterion minimized topographic differences among conditions to facilitate latency interpretations. Scopolamine slowed N1 latency in all tasks, and P3 and reaction time in some tasks. The drug delayed responses to easy targets more than to hard targets. It also induced a disproportionate N1 delay for unilateral high spatial frequency gratings. Both effects reflect a scopolamine-induced impairment when processing targets that usually capture attention. Scopolamine also impaired accuracy for unilateral high spatial frequency gratings, and for gratings presented at probable locations, confirming and extending previous findings. Scopolamine-induced P1 and N1 delays showed that visual processing was affected. Several results were inconsistent with a serial stage model. We suggest that scopolamine both delays selected processes and impairs a processing mode based on automatic capture of attention, inducing more serial processing.