Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between the P3a/P3b brain potentials, cortical thickness, and cognitive function in aging. Thirty-five younger and 37 older healthy participants completed a visual three-stimuli oddball ERP (event-related potential)-paradigm, a battery of neuropsychological tests, and MRI scans. Groups with short vs. long latency, and low vs. high amplitude, were compared on a point by point basis across the entire cortical mantle. In the young, thickness was only weakly related to P3. In the elderly, P3a amplitude effects were found in parietal areas, the temporoparietal junction, and parts of the posterior cingulate cortex. P3b latency was especially related to cortical thickness in large frontal regions. Path models with the whole sample pooled together were constructed, demonstrating that cortical thickness in the temporoparietal cortex predicted P3a amplitude, which in turn predicted executive function, and that thickness in orbitofrontal cortex predicted P3b latency, which in turn predicted fluid function. When age was included in the model, the relationship between P3 and cognitive function vanished, while the relationship between regional cortical thickness and P3 remained. It is concluded that thickness in specific cortical areas correlates with scalp recorded P3a/P3b in elderly, and that these relationships differentially mediate higher cognitive function.