[Frequency of the P3 component of the acoustic ERP in children with normal or diminished concentration ability].

The occurrence of the P3 component of the acoustic vertex ERP after an appropriate stimulus was recorded for 27 male children (including 6 with early brain damage) with normal and 37 (including 33 with early brain damage) with below-normal concentration. Both groups had the same mean age and intelligence. A P3 component was found in the case of 18 subjects with normal and 9 with below-normal concentration. The rearrangement of the subjects to give one group with, and one without, brain damage yielded smaller differences. The significant difference (p less than 1%) in the frequencies with which the P3 component occurred, taking the mean concentration into account, leads to the assumption that the internal processing of the stimulus is disturbed in boys with poor concentration.