P300 (neuroscience)

P300 latency and amplitude trajectories across the lifespan as obtained from the cross-sectional dataset. Dots represent scores from individual participants. From From P300 Development across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.[1] The latency and amplitude of the P300 response may vary as a function of age.
The P300 response of different healthy subjects in a two-tone auditory oddball paradigm. The plots show the average response to oddball (red) and standard (blue) trials and their difference (black). From Surprise response as a probe for compressed memory states.[2] These examples show the significant individual variability in amplitude, latency and waveform shape across different subjects.

The P300 (P3) wave is an event-related potential (ERP) component elicited in the process of decision making. It is considered to be an endogenous potential, as its occurrence links not to the physical attributes of a stimulus, but to a person's reaction to it. More specifically, the P300 is thought to reflect processes involved in stimulus evaluation or categorization.

It is usually elicited using the oddball paradigm, in which low-probability target items are mixed with high-probability non-target (or "standard") items. When recorded by electroencephalography (EEG), it surfaces as a positive deflection in voltage with a latency (delay between stimulus and response) of roughly 250 to 500 ms.[3] In the scientific literature a differentiation is often made in the P3, which is divided according to time: Early P3 window (300-400 ms) and Late P3 window (380-440 ms).[4]

The signal is typically measured most strongly by the electrodes covering the parietal lobe. The presence, magnitude, topography and timing of this signal are often used as metrics of cognitive function in decision-making processes. While the neural substrates of this ERP component still remain hazy, the reproducibility and ubiquity of this signal makes it a common choice for psychological tests in both the clinic and laboratory.

  1. ^ Rik van Dinteren; Martijn Arns; Marijtje L. A. Jongsma; Roy P. C. Kessels (2014). "P300 Development across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". PLOS ONE. 9 (2): e87347. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0087347. PMC 3923761. PMID 24551055.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Levi-Aharoni2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Polich, J. (2007). "Updating P300: An integrative theory of P3a and P3b". Clinical Neurophysiology. 118 (10): 2128–2148. doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2007.04.019. PMC 2715154. PMID 17573239.
  4. ^ Keil, A.; Bradley, M. M.; Hauk, O.; Rockstroh, B.; Elbert, T. & Lang, P. J. (2002). "Large-scale neural correlates of affective picture processing". Psychophysiology. 39 (5): 641–649. doi:10.1017/S0048577202394162. PMID 12236331.