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Comparative Study
. 2014 Jul;51(7):620-33.
doi: 10.1111/psyp.12206. Epub 2014 Mar 24.

Investigating the age-related "anterior shift" in the scalp distribution of the P3b component using principal component analysis

Brittany R Alperin  1 , Katherine K Mott, Dorene M Rentz, Phillip J Holcomb, Kirk R Daffner
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Investigating the age-related "anterior shift" in the scalp distribution of the P3b component using principal component analysis

Brittany R Alperin et al. Psychophysiology. 2014 Jul.

Abstract

An age-related "anterior shift" in the distribution of the P3b is often reported. Temporospatial principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the basis of this observation. ERPs were measured in young and old adults during a visual oddball task. PCA revealed two spatially distinct factors in both age groups, identified as the posterior P3b and anterior P3a. Young subjects generated a smaller P3a than P3b, while old subjects generated a P3a that did not differ in amplitude from their P3b. Rather than having a more anteriorly distributed P3b, old subjects produced a large, temporally overlapping P3a. The pattern of the age-related "anterior shift" in the P3 was similar for target and standard stimuli. The increase in the P3a in elderly adults may not represent a failure to habituate the novelty response, but may reflect greater reliance on executive control operations (P3a) to carry out the categorization/updating process (P3b).

Keywords: Aging; Anterior shift; Cognition; EEG/ERP; P3; PCA.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of an experimental run.
Figure 2
Figure 2
a) Illustration of the grand average ERP waveforms at midline electrode sites FPz, Fz, Cz, and Pz in response to target stimuli. b) Topographic maps of the mean amplitude between 400–700 ms in response to target stimuli.
Figure 3
Figure 3
a) Illustration of the grand average ERP waveforms at midline electrode sites FPz, Fz, Cz, and Pz in response to standard stimuli. b) Topographic maps of the mean amplitude between 400–700 ms in response to standard stimuli. Note that the scale differs for target and standard stimulus types.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Waveforms and scalp topographies of PCA factors TF2SF1 (P3a) and TF2SF2 (P3b) in response to target stimuli.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Waveforms and scalp topographies of PCA factors TF2SF1 (P3a) and TF2SF2 (P3b) in response to standard stimuli. Note that the scale differs for target and standard stimulus types.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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