Temporal Stability of Multichannel, Multimodal ERP (Related Brain Potentials) Recordings

摘要

Prior research has suggested that brain electrical recordings, such as the event-related potential (ERP), may substantially augment personnel assessment procedures. Such assessment includes selection and classification of individuals for specific jobs, determination of stress tolerance, and prediction of on-job performance. Fundamental to using the ERP for these purposes is determining its sensitivity to individual differences and the long-term stability or reliability of specific ERP measures. Stability refers to the repeatability or similarity in the ERP waveform across time. The usual procedure followed for determining stability is computing the correlation coefficient between two waveforms. High correlation between waveforms suggests similarity, while low correlation suggests variability. In this study, visual, auditory, and bimodal ERP records were obtained about two hours apart from a group of young adult males. Similar records were obtained about two months apart from a group of older adults. No ERP amplitude or temporal stability differences were found between the two groups. Age was positively correlated with visual stability measures and negatively correlated with auditory stability measures. No correlation of age with bimodal stability measures was found. Large individual subject differences were found for the ERP analog waveform and temporal stability.