The effect of decreased catecholamine transmission on ERP indices of selective attention.

Abstract

This study examines the effect of decreased catecholamine transmission on event-related potential (ERP) indices of selective attention. Intravenous clonidine (1.5 micrograms/kg Catapres), droperidol (15 micrograms/kg Droleptan), or placebo were administered to healthy adult males prior to performance of a multidimensional auditory selective attention task (SAT) in which dichotically presented sequences of tone pips varied on dimensions of location (left or right ear), pitch (high or low), and duration (short or long). Subjects were required to make a button press response to infrequent "target" stimuli that matched a prespecified stimulus on the three dimensions. ERPs were recorded during th..