Task-related EEG and ERP changes without performance impairment following a single dose of phenytoin.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
The acute effects of a single, low dose of phenytoin on behavioral and neurophysiological measures of cognitive function were examined in healthy adults.METHODS:
Electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded from 7 healthy volunteers while they performed spatial working memory tasks and while they rested quietly. Behavioral measures, EEG power spectra, and event-related potentials (ERPs) were compared between separate sessions in which subjects ingested either 10mg/kg of phenytoin or placebo.RESULTS:
Peak serum levels of phenytoin were in the low therapeutic range. Although participants reported subjective effects of the drug, task accuracy and response time were not affected. In the resting EEG, phenytoin decreased power in the alpha band. In the task-related EEG, the frontal midline theta signal was enhanced in response to increased task difficulty following placebo but not following phenytoin. An attention-related augmentation of the N160 ERP to matching stimuli was also reduced by phenytoin.CONCLUSIONS:
Neurophysiological measures displayed sensitivity to subtle alterations in attentional processing even in response to a dose of phenytoin too low to produce behavioral impairment. Such results indicate that EEG and ERP measures can provide information about the neurocognitive side effects of medications that cannot be inferred from cognitive task performance measures alone.

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Author information

Author/s: Chung, Steve S (SS); McEvoy, Linda K (LK); Smith, Michael E (ME); Gevins, Alan (A); Meador, Kimford (K); Laxer, Kenneth D (KD);

Affiliation: San Francisco Brain Research Institute and SAM Technology, 425 Bush Street Fifth Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Controlled Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology (Clin Neurophysiol), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jun; vol 113 (issue 6) : pp 806-14

Dates: Created 2002/06/05; Completed 2002/08/08; Revised 2008/09/10;

PMID: 12048040, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Anticonvulsants - adverse effects; blood
Cognition - drug effects
Electroencephalography - drug effects
Event-Related Potentials, P300 - drug effects
Female

Humans
Male
Memory, Short-Term - drug effects
Phenytoin - adverse effects; blood
Psychomotor Performance - drug effects
Rest

Associated Chemicals: Anticonvulsants (0) ; Phenytoin (57-41-0)

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