알코올의존 환자와 병적 도박 환자의 사건관련전위 P300

The P300 in Patients with Alcohol Dependence or Pathological Gambling

Objectives：This study aimed to evaluate an auditory and visual event-related potential, the P300, in patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence or pathological gambling. Methods：Subjects comprised patients with either alcohol dependence (N=24) or pathological gambling (N=24) and normal controls (N=24). To determine the subjects’ topographic auditory and visual event-re-lated P300 potentials, we used the standard “Oddball paradigm” method, measured via the conventional Global Field Power method. Results：In patients with alcohol dependence or pathological gambling, the amplitudes of auditory and visual event-re-lated P300s were significantly lower than those of normal controls (p<0.01). The auditory P300 amplitude and latency revealed no significant differences between the alcohol dependence and pathological gambling patients. In pathological gambling patients, the visual P300 latencies were significantly later at Fz, Cz, and Pz than they were in alcohol dependence patients (p<0.01). Conclusion：These results suggest patients with alcohol dependence or pathological gambling have brain dysfunctions with certain neuro-physiological aspects. Visual P300 latencies at Fz, Cz, and Pz occurred significantly later in pathological gambling patients than in alcohol dependence patients, suggesting that pathological gambling patients may have greater cognitive function impairment than alcohol dependence patients have.