![]() A distinct waveform for the novel events is observed in auditory and visual modalities, and can be demonstrated even in passive tasks where the participant needs to look at or listen to the stimuli but does not need to actively respond ( Courchesne, 1978 Picton, 1992 Polich and McIsaac, 1994 Squires et al., 1975). An advantage of this task over the classic 2-stimulus oddball task, which includes only a frequent and infrequent stimulus, is that it allows dissociation of response to low frequency versus novelty per se by comparing the two low frequency categories. In the ‘novelty oddball’ ERP task, three types of stimuli are presented: (i) one that is repeated at high probability (‘frequent’) (ii) another that is repeated at low probability (‘infrequent’) and (iii) a set of trial-unique novel stimuli presented at low probability. ![]() Young infants’ ERP waveforms discriminate novel stimuli embedded in a train of frequent ‘familiar’ stimuli ( Courchesne et al., 1981), and their ability to do so may influence their level of general intellectual functioning later in childhood ( Lewis and Brooks-Gunn, 1981 Slater, 1997). One ERP response that has been well-studied across a wide age range is the response to deviance and/or novelty, because the child’s ability to detect and assimilate novel events is fundamental to cognitive development ( Berg and Sternberg, 1985). The aim of this study was to examine the development of ERPs associated with sensory and cognitive processing in children growing-up in rural Kenya. This is important, as it may be used to assess the nature and pace of neurocognitive development in these children. The first step in the application of the ERP technique in detecting cognitive impairment in African children is the recording of normative ERP data in normally-developing African children. Most studies focus on the effects of disease without establishing the development of brain potentials. Few sensory evoked potential/ERP studies have been conducted with African populations ( Elwan et al., 2003 Lombard, 2005 Mwanza et al., 2003 Oluwole et al., 2003), and most do not examine long-latency ERPs associated with cognition. They are not dependent upon language, are less likely to be influenced by culture than standard neuropsychological tests, and may be particularly useful in populations, such as those in Africa, that are currently without well-developed standardized psychological assessments. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are used increasingly to assess basic sensory abilities that have important cognitive consequences in children ( Burden et al., 2007 Byrne et al., 2001 Ceponiene et al., 2002a Courchesne, 1978).
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