[Cerebral blood flow and event-related potential in patients with cerebral infarction]

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and P 300, a long-latency positive component of the scalp-recorded event-related potential (ERP) associated with cognitive processing were investigated in patients with cerebral infarction to elucidate the relationship between CBF and cognitive function. Twenty-five patients with cerebral infarction with a mean age of 66.8 years were studied. ERP was recorded during auditory discrimination tasks. The latency of the P 300 from Pz region was recorded. The regional CBF was measured by the 133Xe inhalation method. The F1 (cortical gray matter flow) values were calculated using the Obrist's method. The mean F1 values in patients with cerebral infarction were significantly lower compared to the values obtained for the 15 control subjects (mean age, 68.4 years) (p less than 0.01). Patients with cerebral infarction showed significant prolongation of the P 300 latency compared to the 20 control subjects (mean age, 64.4 years) (p less than 0.02). There was a significant correlation between the P 300 latency and the mean F1 values in patients with cerebral infarction (p less than 0.01). Present results suggest that the cognitive impairment with respect to ERP may be related to the reduction of cortical blood flow in patients with cerebral infarction.