Attention impairment in children with primary nocturnal enuresis: an event-related potentials study

Objective To explore the neural mechanism of attention impairment in children with primary nocturnal enuresis. Methods ERPs elicited by performing the continuous operation test(CPT) were assessed in 20 children with primary nocturnal enuresis and 20 normal children. The Go/Nogo measurements of enuretic group at central scalp(Cz) were compared with the normal children and analyzed. Results 1.Behavior results: there was no significant difference in the reaction time, the correct number and the false number between primary nocturnal enuresis and control group(P>0.05). 2. ERP: (1)Go stimulate: the latency of Go-N2 and P3 of the children with primary nocturnal enuresis were longer than the normal control group(Go-N2: (326.80±46.40)ms vs (295.90±38.27)ms, P3: (438.80±62.60)ms vs (402.60±39.74)ms), and the difference had statistic significance(P 0.05). ②Latency: the latency of Nogo-P2 of the children with primary nocturnal enuresis was longer than that of the normal control group((214.10±27.85)ms vs (198.30±19.16)ms), and the difference had statistic significance(P 0.05). Conclusion Attention impairment in children with primary nocturnal enuresis might be caused by the information processing speed and conflict monitoring function obstacle, but it is not because the reactive inhibition dysfunction, thus result in the lack of arousal function and bedwetting. Key words: Primary nocturnal enuresis; Attention impairment; Event-related potential