[Event-related potentials to response production and inhibition in go/nogo task. II. Developmental change of response inhibition].

In order to investigate the developmental changes of response inhibition in frontal function, event related potentials (ERPs) during a Go/NoGo task were collected. Twelve developmentally normal subjects, ranging in age from 7 to 15, and 9 normal adults performed a visual Go/NoGo task, which is a continuous performance test (CPT) using 5 color samples. We obtained ERPs of the Go and NoGo conditions from 13-channel EEG recordings and measured peak latency, amplitude, and topographic distribution of the NoGo N2 and NoGo P3 components. The NoGo N2 components were located at Fz in childhood, but changed from Cz to Pz in adulthood. The NoGo N2 amplitude diminished linearly with age. The NoGo P3 components were significant at Cz at all ages and the amplitude increased with age. The pattern of NoGo N2 and NoGo P3 components in 7-to 15-year-old children were similar, but differed in adults. These results suggest that the maturation of response inhibition in frontal lobe is achieved beyond 15 years of age, and that NoGo 3 amplitude particularly reflects the maturation of response inhibition.