Electrophysiological study on cognitive function in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with previous neuropsychiatric involvement

This study aimed to evaluate P300 as an electrophysiological marker of cognitive function in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who had previous neuropsychiatric (NPSLE) involvement and were diagnosed to have cognitive impairment by standard neuropsychological tests. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were assessed by the auditory and visual oddball paradigms. Amplitude and latency of P300 at the frontal (Fz), central (Cz), and parietal (Pz) regions were determined and compared with controls. P300 detection was performed in NPSLE patients with pre-diagnosed cognitive impairment (n = 9), matched SLE patients without previous NPSLE (non-NPSLE) (n = 9), and healthy controls (n = 15). Auditory oddball task did not show any P300 abnormality between groups. Visual oddball task revealed reduced amplitude of P300 over Fz (P = .002) and Cz (P = .009) electrodes in NPSLE patients compared with healthy controls and among those who had predominant memory deficit (P = .01 at Fz). Abnormal P300 was also obse...