Event-related potentials of the brain and cognitive processes: approaches and applications

Event-related potentials (ERPs) are recordings of the electric field which the brain produces in fixed time-relation to an event. ERPs open a time and space window onto covert steps of brain information processing which need not be accompanied by overt behavior or private experiences. ERPs are the only noninvasive method which resolves the dynamic pattern of events in the human brain down to the millisecond range. Early ERP components are valuable tools in clinical testing of the afferent sensory systems in the absence of anamnestic or clinical pathology. Later components (e.g. the 'P300') index intermediate, covert steps of information processing and have clarified the time course and the contingencies of processes in attention, decisions and language. ERP waveshapes show electric potential differences between two recording points. Conventional analysis often ignores the fact that there is no unique voltage amplitude or signal latency for a single point, and interprets ambiguous results. Although important insights have emerged with such strategies, full utilization of ERP data requires unambiguous ERP assessment and converging evidence from neuropsychological and cognitive experimentation. Sequences of field distribution maps offer an unbiased display of ERP data. Spatial analysis yields unambiguous values for further comprehensive assessment, and should precede analysis over time. Examples of spatial analysis have shown that different ERP field configurations follow the presentation of noun and verb meaning of homophone words; that the ERP effects to subjective contours resemble those to attention in time course and topography; that the 'cognitive' P300 component reflects the specific stimulus location; and that subliminal information influences the configuration of late ERP fields.