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[P300 potential in chldren with psychogenic nonepileptic events and tension headache]
Insights
The P300 potential, a neurophysiological marker, shows slight differences between children with nonepileptic seizures and tension headaches, with psychotherapy potentially influencing these responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
- Psychology
Background:
- Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is a primary treatment for pediatric nonepileptic psychogenic seizures and tension headaches.
- Children's intellectual functioning is linked to endogenous neurophysiological parameters.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in the P300 event-related potential between children with nonepileptic psychogenic seizures and tension headaches.
- To assess the impact of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy on P300 parameters in these pediatric groups.
Main Methods:
- The study involved 47 children (20 with nonepileptic seizures, 27 with tension headaches).
- P300 potential was measured using auditory stimuli, assessing reaction time, errors, and attention.
- Measurements were taken before and after 8-10 psychotherapy sessions, with an additional post-hyperventilation assessment.
Main Results:
- P300 parameters were closer to normal in children with tension headaches compared to those with nonepileptic seizures.
- Children with nonepileptic seizures showed shorter reaction times and higher attention scores post-therapy.
- Hyperventilation prolonged reaction time in P300 measurements without affecting error rates or attention.
Conclusions:
- The endogenous P300 potential exhibits variations between pediatric groups with tension headaches and nonepileptic seizures.
- While differences were observed, they did not reach statistical significance.
- Psychotherapy may influence neurophysiological responses, warranting further investigation.
Introduction:
Psychotherapy is being used as the primary treatment in nonepileptic psychogenic seizures and tension headaches in children. Children's intelectual functioning is related to certain endogenous neurophysiological parameters.
Aim:
The goal of this study was to establish whether the endogenous potential P300 is different in children with nonepileptic psychogenic events and with tension headaches, and whether it changes under the influence of the cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy.
Material And Methods:
The study included a group of 47 children: 20 with nonepileptic psychogenic seizures (18 girls and 2 boys), aged 11.09-17.11 years, and 27 children with tension headache (25 girls and 2 boys), aged 10.11-17.11 years. The P300 potential was induced using an auditory stimulus. The reaction time, the amount of mistakes and the percentage of attention focus was measured in all children. All children attended 8-10 psychotherapy sessions. The P300 potential was registered before and after the course of therapy, and additionally in both cycles also after a 3 minutes hyperventilation.
Results:
Medium P300 parameters were closer to normal in the group of children with tension headaches rather than in the group with nonepileptic seizures. The shorter was the reaction time in the first measurement, the higher the attention score and the shorter the reaction time in the second measurement - this was visible in the results of children with nonepileptic seizures, in contrast to children with tension headaches. The use of hyperventilation caused a noticeable extension of the reaction time in the P300 measurement, with other components unchanged (mistake count and percentage of attention focus).
Conclusion:
The endogenous potential P300 does vary, although on a statistically insignificant level, in groups of children with tension headaches and nonepileptic seizures.
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