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document
Event-related potentials and monoamines in autistic children on a clinical trial of fenfluramine . In a double blind , crossover study of the response of autistic subjects to fenfluramine , event-related potentials ( ERPs ) were recorded from 7 subjects on an attention-demanding auditory choice reaction time task ( ACRT ) . ACRT , IQ and biochemical measures were taken after 5 months placebo and 5 months fenfluramine treatment . After fenfluramine treatment blood serotonin levels fell , urinary catecholamine levels fell and the HVA/DA ratio rose . IQ and ACRT performance improved . On the ACRT subjects were asked to press a button to a rare target ( 500 Hz , P = 0.14 ) and to ignore higher pitched rare ( 2,000 Hz , P = 0.14 ) and frequent non-targets ( 1,000 Hz ) . After fenfluramine treatment N1 latencies increased . The scalp distribution of ERP maxima changes slightly with treatment . P3 maxima elicited by rare non-targets were recorded more rostrally after fenfluramine treatment . After rare non-targets N1 amplitudes at Fz decreased but P3 amplitudes at Pz increased . Early negativity after the rare non-target ( particularly on the right side ) was negatively correlated with the HVA/DA ratio . Subtraction of the P3 component elicited in a passive condition where no response was required from the active condition showed that P3 positivity to targets was halved with treatment . ( In contrast Nd increased on fenfluramine treatment ) . Overall , N1 and P3 components showed greatest responsiveness to rare non-targets on fenfluramine . N1 but not P3 changes may represent slight improvement of attention-related function with treatment . Small changes in ERP latency and distribution , associated with the neuroleptic action of fenfluramine may be partly responsible for a mild improvement of IQ and ACRT performance on medication .
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Intervention_Pharmacological
fenfluramine .
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Intervention_Pharmacological
fenfluramine , event-related potentials ( ERPs
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Intervention_Control
placebo
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Intervention_Pharmacological
fenfluramine treatment .
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Intervention_Pharmacological
fenfluramine
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Intervention_Pharmacological
fenfluramine
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Intervention_Pharmacological
fenfluramine
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Outcome_Mental
IQ and ACRT performance
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Outcome_Physical
ACRT
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Outcome_Mental
N1 latencies
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Outcome_Physical
scalp distribution of ERP
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Outcome_Physical
N1 amplitudes at Fz
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Outcome_Physical
P3 amplitudes at Pz
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Outcome_Physical
P3 positivity
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Participant_Condition
autistic
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Participant_Age
children
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Participant_Condition
autistic
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Participant_Sample-size
7