Auditory Evoked Potential P3 in Children with and without Learning Difficulties

Introduction: Learning difficulties may be related to auditory processing. The endogenous auditory evoked potentials (P3) are used to assess the central portion of the auditory pathway, because it reflects the activity of brain areas associated with cognition, memory, and auditory attention.

Objective: The study aimed to analyze and compare latencies and amplitudes obtained at P3 of children with and without learning disabilities with normal hearing.

Methods: A transversal and comparative study was undertaken. The sample consisted of 30 (68.2%) children with complaints of learning difficulties (study group) and 14 (31.8%) children without any complaints (control group), aged between 9 and 12 years and 11 months. All children did peripheral audiological evaluation and research of P3.

Results: It was found that the mean latency of the P3 study group (417.24 ± 80.91 ms) was significantly higher than the control group (310.58 ± 53.71 ms) (p < 0.0001). Comparing the values of P3 amplitude, there was no significant difference, although the mean of the study group (11.15 ± 5.65 µV) was lower than the control group (13.51 ± 4.57 µV). No significant correlation between age and latency of P3 was detected. A similar situation was observed in the relationship between age and amplitude, the result being negative yet not significant.

Conclusion: The group of children with learning difficulties presented values of P3 latency significantly higher than children in the control group. There was no significant statistical correlation in the values of the P3 wave amplitude between the groups.