E-ISSN : 2733-4538
This study was conducted to compare the ERPs elicited by oddball and single-stimulus paradigm. There were not any significant differences between two paradigms in terms of P300 amplitudes. The amplitudes of P300s in both paradigms showed similar scalp distribution, that is the P300s on Pz had the largest amplitudes and those on Fz had the smallest ones. These results indicate that the tasks of both paradigms require the similar neurocognitive mechanism. Contrary to the amplitudes, there were significant differences between two paradigms in terms of P300 latencies. The oddball paradigm elicited longer P300 latencies than single-stimulus paradigm. Since there is a strong relationship between P300 latency and task difficulty, this result suggests that oddball paradigm is more difficult for subject than single-stimulus paradigm. In addition, the oddball paradigm elicited the larger N200 amplitudes than single-stimulus paradigm. The N200 reflects such psychological process as identification, comparison and classification of incoming stimulus. Therefore the oddball paradigm, which requires the comparison and classification of two stimuli, produced the larger N200 amplitudes than single-stimulus paradigm which presented only one stimulus. Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that single-stimulus paradigm can be used as a substitute for oddball paradigm, and the ERPs is a reliable psychophysiological technique for evaluating the cognitive functions.