ELSEVIER zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH Psychiatry Research 73 (1997) 133-146 Event-related potential negative shift in sons of polysubstance- and alcohol-use disorder fathers Janet Brigham*, Howard B. Moss’, E. Lenn Murrelle2, Levent Kirisci, James S. Spinelli3 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQ Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Received 1 August 1996;revised 20 July 1997;accepted 19 September 1997 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZY Abstract Previous research has considered event-related potentials (ERPs) in relation to liability for alcohol and other substance use. This study explored ERPs in preadolescent boys at elevated risk for substance use due to paternal history of substance abuse or dependence. Sons (age 10-12) of fathers with an alcohol-use disorder (ALC, n = 29) were matched by age, IQ, education and parental alcohol use with sons of fathers with a polysubstance abuse or dependence diagnosis (POLY, n = 37). These two groups were matched with a low-risk comparison group (LOW, n = 29) of boys whose fathers had no substance-use disorder diagnosis. No boy in the study met criteria for a substance-use disorder. ERPs were collected from midline (Fz, Cz, Pz) and parietal (P3, P4) electrode leads during an auditory oddball task. ERPs of boys from the ALC and POLY groups showed a slow negative shift prominent at Cz and Pz. This negative shift, evident by 100 ms post-stimulus and lasting for the duration of the lOOO-ms recording period, overlapped temporally with Nl, N2 and P3 amplitude differences distinguishing the ALC and POLY groups from the LOW group. The ALC and POLY groups differed from each other in N2 amplitude at Cz, which was larger for ALC subjects. These findings offer a possible alternative explanation for previously observed amplitude anomalies noted in children at risk for substance-use disorders and suggest new avenues of inquiry. 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Keywords: Risk factors; Alcoholism; Auditory event-related potentials; Substance use; Biological vulnerability *Corresponding author, Health Sciences and Policy Program, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA-94025, USA, e-mail: jzb@unix.sri.com ‘Present address: Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh. *Present address: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. 3Present address: CDS Technologies, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. 01651781/97/$17.00 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. PII SO 165- 1781(97)00121- 2