The effects of neurofeedback training for children with cerebral palsy and co-occurring attention deficits: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Limited research exists regarding the effectiveness of electroencephalogram (EEG) neurofeedback training for children with cerebral palsy (CP) and co-occurring attention deficits (ADs), despite the increasing prevalence of these dual conditions. This study aimed to fill this gap by examining the impact of neurofeedback training on the attention levels of children with CP and AD. METHODS: Nineteen children with both CP and co-occurring ADs were randomly assigned to either a neurofeedback or control group. The neurofeedback group received 20 sessions of training, lasting approximately 1 h per day, twice a week. Theta/beta ratios of the quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) recordings were measured pre-training and post-training in the resting state. The Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills-3rd Version (TVPS-3) and the Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) were measured at pre- and post-training. RESULTS: The neurofeedback group showed both decreased theta/beta ratios compared with control group (p = 0.04) at post-training and a within-group improvement during training (p = 0.02). Additionally, the neurofeedback group had a trend of decreased omission rates of the CPT (p = 0.08) and the visual sequential memory and the visual closure subscores in the TVPS-3, compared with the control group (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that children with CP and co-occurring AD may benefit from neurofeedback training in their attention level. Further research is needed to explore long-term effects and expand its application in this population.

Age-related changes in the neural gating of respiratory sensations in humans.

Background: Neural gating of respiratory sensations (NGRS) characterises the brain's ability to filter out repetitive respiratory sensory stimuli. This mechanism plays a crucial role in the neural processing of respiratory stimuli. However, whether ageing affects NGRS in healthy adults is still unclear. Therefore, we aimed to measure the effect of age on NGRS as well as the corresponding S1 and S2 components of the respiratory-related evoked potentials (RREPs). Methods: Three age groups of healthy adults participated in this study: a young group (YG; age 20-39 years), a middle-aged group (MG; age 40-59 years) and an old group (OG; age ≥60 years). NGRS was measured by the RREPs in the electroencephalogram in response to short-paired respiratory occlusion stimuli (S1 and S2). The S2/S1 ratio of the RREP N1 amplitude (the negative deflection of the RREP at ∼85-135 ms) was used to characterise NGRS. Results: The results showed a significantly smaller N1 S2/S1 ratio in the YG than in the MG (p=0.01) and OG (p=0.03). Further analysis showed that the S1 N1 amplitude was larger for the YG compared with the MG (p=0.03) and OG (p=0.007). Moreover, age was significantly correlated with the N1 S2/S1 ratio (r=0.43), with higher age relating to higher N1 S2/S1 ratios. Conclusions: The greater N1 S2/S1 ratios observed in older adults suggest that ageing has a negative impact on the NGRS. This might contribute to increased experiences of respiratory sensations such as dyspnoea in ageing adults.

The effect of mechanical vibration-based stimulation on dynamic balance control and gait characteristics in healthy young and older adults: A systematic review of cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: A good dynamic balance control and stable gait played an important role in the daily ambulation, especially for older adults with sensorimotor degeneration. This study aimed to systematically review the effects and potential mechanisms of mechanical vibration-based stimulation (MVBS) on dynamic balance control and gait characteristics in healthy young and older adults. METHOD: Five bioscience and engineering databases, including MEDLINE via PubMed, CINAHL via EBSCO, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Embase, were searched until September 4th, 2022. Studies published between 2000 and 2022 in English and Chinese involving mechanical vibration related to gait and dynamic balance were included. The procedure was followed via the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis method. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the NIH study quality assessment tool for observational cohort and cross-sectional studies. RESULTS: A total of 41 cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this study. Eight studies were good-quality while 26 were moderate-quality and 7 were poor-quality. There were six categories of MVBS at various frequencies and amplitudes utilized in included studies, including plantar vibration, focal muscle vibration, Achilles tendon vibration, vestibular vibration, cervical vibration, and vibration on nail of hallux. SIGNIFICANCE: Different types of MVBS targeting different sensory systems affected the dynamic balance control and gait characteristics differently. MVBS could be used to provide improvement or perturbation to specific sensory systems, to induce different sensory reweight strategies during gait.

Effects of emotional contexts on respiratory attention task performance.

Negative emotions have been found associated with high prevalence of respiratory disease and increased subjective feelings of dyspnea, while positive emotional stimulus has been suggested to alleviate dyspneic feelings. However, the extent to which different emotional contexts affect individuals' respiratory interoceptive attention was not clear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of emotional contexts on respiratory interoceptive accuracy, and the relationships between respiratory interoceptive accuracy and negative emotions as well as respiratory symptoms. Fifty-six healthy participants completed the self-reported questionnaires of depression, anxiety, and respiratory symptoms. During the experiment, the participants were instructed to watch one neutral and one positive affective picture series and mentally count the number of perceived occlusions (reported at the end of the trials). The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test and Spearman's correlations were used to examine the effect of the emotional pictures and to explore the relationships between the level of emotional status or respiratory symptoms and respiratory interoceptive task performance. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. Our results did not show a significant difference in participants' occlusion counting task performance between the neutral and positive emotional context. However, Spearman's Rho correlation analysis revealed that depression level was negatively correlated with accuracy of the task performance in the neutral emotional context, and this relationship diminished in the positive emotional context. In summary, our study demonstrated that negative emotional status, especially depression, may lead to decreased respiratory interoceptive accuracy. Future studies are recommended to test the effect of positive emotional context on respiratory interoceptive task performance in individuals with clinical depression and anxiety.

The impact of emotional context on neural substrates of respiratory sensory gating.

Psychological challenges have been found to impact respiratory symptom perception in healthy individuals as well as in patients with various neurological disorders. Human respiratory sensory gating is an objective measure to examine respiratory sensory information processing of repetitive respiratory mechanical stimuli in the central nervous system. With this electrophysiological method, patients with higher anxiety levels showed reduced respiratory sensory gating function in the cortex, and increased symptom perception. In addition, positive emotional contexts were found to increase the respiratory sensory gating function using RREPs. However, neural substrates related to emotional impacts on respiratory sensory gating remain still unclear. In the present study, we examined the emotion processing of respiratory sensory gating using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We hypothesized that positive compared with neutral stimuli would result in reduced brain activations in cortical areas with the paired occlusion paradigm. Thirty-five healthy adults participated in this event-designed fMRI experiment. Paired inspiratory occlusions (two transient occlusions with a 500 ms inter-stimulus-interval are delivered during one inspiration) were provided using an external trigger outside of the scanner. At least 40 paired inspiratory occlusions were collected for each trial. The experiment contained three runs during which participants underwent 12 min for the paired inspiratory occlusion paradigm while watching a fixation cross (the control condition), neutral and positive emotional picture series. The order of emotional picture series was randomized across the participants. Our results revealed an overall trend of reduction of brain activity from the neutral (minus fixation) condition, to the pleasant (minus fixation) condition. For bilateral thalamus and primary visual cortices, there was no significant difference in neural activation between the two contrasts of pleasant (ContrastP-F) and neutral condition (ContrastN-F). The activation of the mid-cingulate and the orbitofrontal cortex was lower in ContrastP-F compared to ContrastN-F. In conclusion, our results suggest that emotional context, especially positive valence, modulates neural correlates in middle cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex in terms of respiratory sensory gating. Future studies are recommended to test emotional impacts on respiratory sensations in patients with neurological disorders.

Is a Forensic Cohabitation Program Recovery-Oriented? A Logic Model Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Recovery orientation is a movement in mental health practice. Although general mental health services have taken the lead in promoting recovery, forensic psychiatric systems have lagged behind because of the need to reconcile recovery principles with the complexities of legal mandates. Advocating recovery and making systemic changes can be challenging because they require seeking a balance between the competing duties to the patient and the public. This paper used a logic model framework to demonstrate a cohabitation program that placed a woman and her newborn infant in a secure forensic rehabilitation unit, and analyzed the key assumptions of recovery upon which it was based. METHODS: This was a qualitative program evaluation. Data collection involved individual interviews with the woman, the infant's father, five primary healthcare providers, and five system administrators, and 11 focus groups with unit staff and other patients. Content analysis was used to guide the data analysis and develop the critical components of the program logic model. RESULTS: A logic model that consists of input (team building, program planning, staff and patient preparation, resource management), output (logistic activities, risk management, mental healthcare, staff/other patient support, discharge preparation), and outcome (individual, provider, system, and society) components was developed. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a recovery-oriented program for a woman cohabitating with her baby in a secure forensic psychiatric rehabilitation unit. The logic model provided a comprehensive understanding of the way the recovery principles, such as shared decision-making, positive risk-taking, informed choices, and relational security, were implemented.

Client buy-in: An essential consideration for graded motor imagery in hand therapy.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional survey research. INTRODUCTION: Current evidence provides efficacy of graded motor imagery (GMI) in chronic pain conditions but also reveals barriers to its implementation. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study was to describe current utilization of GMI in hand therapy practice. METHODS: Survey tool, informed by literature and Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) was electronically distributed to members of the American Society of Hand Therapists. RESULTS: 132 therapists completed the survey. 65.2% reported they would always or very likely use GMI in clients with central sensitization, but no relationship between the likelihood of therapists using GMI to score achieved on the NPQ was found. Lack of patient buy-in, was the main barrier cited. "Sell it well" with pain neuroscience education the most cited strategy. DISCUSSION: GMI is frequently used in clients with central sensitization but requires client buy-in. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding and explaining pain mechanism is essential for implementing GMI.

Self-reflection and screening mental health on Canadian campuses: validation of the mental health continuum model.

BACKGROUND: This study describes the psychometric testing of the Mental Health Continuum (MHC) model the Canadian Department of National Defense developed initially, among undergraduates of three Canadian universities. The MHC is a tool that consists of 6 items to guide students the way to attend to, or monitor, signs and behavior indicators of their mental health status and suggest appropriate actions to improve their mental health. METHODS: Online survey data were collected from 4206 undergraduate students in three universities in two Canadian provinces during the spring of 2015 and winter of 2016. Participants completed an online survey questionnaire that consisted of the MHC questionnaire, the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), and demographic information, including age, gender, and year of study. RESULTS: Factor analysis using the principal components method followed by a two-step internal replication analysis showed that the MHC tool was two-dimensional and that all six domains assessed were crucial. The construct (convergent) validity of the MHC tool was tested against the K-10, and the correlation analysis results were strong overall, as well as within subgroups defined by gender, year of study, and university. CONCLUSIONS: The MHC is a useful tool that helps college students reflect on and enhance their mental health.

Age-Related Differences Between Young and Old Adults: Effects of Advance Information on Task Switching.

In this study we investigated the effects of advance information on task switching in young and old adults, using two forms of advance information (memory-based and cue-based) and a no advance information task. We compared 19 healthy young and 19 healthy older adults in terms of their behavioral performance and neural correlates under these three task-switching paradigms. We observed a significant difference in mixing cost between the two age groups. There was no switch cost group difference on the memory-based and cue-based tasks, but older adults showed a larger switch cost than younger adults on the no advance information task. On evoked potential measures, there was no group effect in P3 cue-locked positivity; but there was, a frontal shift of the target-locked P3, indexed as reactive control, among older adults. We observed an increased target-locked P3 in the no-information paradigm compared with the cue-based and memory-based paradigms in both groups. Task cue facilitated advance preparation and proactive control under the cue-based paradigm in both groups. Age-related decline and difficulty in control processes required for task goal maintenance were apparent among the older adults.

Occupational Therapy Interventions to Improve Activities of Daily Living for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to synthesize the effects of interventions within the scope of occupational therapy to improve performance of activities of daily living (ADLs) in community-dwelling older adults. METHOD: Searches were conducted in CINAHL, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and OTseeker. Empirical studies published between 1995 and 2015 were individually screened and appraised by two reviewers. RESULTS: Forty-three studies met the review inclusion and exclusion criteria. Physical exercise was the most common intervention approach. Physical exercise interventions for frail older adults showed a moderate benefit, but no benefits were found for older adults without noticeable difficulty in ADLs. For older adults with difficulty in ADLs, there was a high benefit of using home-based intervention. CONCLUSION: The findings of this systematic review highlight the importance of addressing older adults' living environment in intervention to promote independence in ADLs.

Effects of physical exercise in older adults with reduced physical capacity: meta-analysis of resistance exercise and multimodal exercise.

Older adults with reduced physical capacity are at greater risk of progression to care dependency. Progressive resistance strength exercise and multimodal exercise have been studied to restore reduced physical capacity. To summarize the best evidence of the two exercise regimes, this meta-analysis study appraised randomized-controlled trials from published systematic reviews. Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials were searched for relevant systematic reviews. Two reviewers independently screened the relevant systematic reviews to identify eligible trials, assessed trial methodological quality, and extracted data. RevMan 5.3 software was used to analyze data on muscle strength, physical functioning, activities of daily living, and falls. Twenty-three eligible trials were identified from 22 systematic reviews. The mean age of the trial participants was 75 years or older. Almost all multimodal exercise trials included muscle strengthening exercise and balance exercise. Progressive resistance exercise is effective in improving muscle strength of the lower extremity and static standing balance. Multimodal exercise is effective in improving muscle strength of the lower extremity, dynamic standing balance, gait speed, and chair stand. In addition, multimodal exercise is effective in reducing falls. Neither type of exercise was effective in improving activities of daily living. For older adults with reduced physical capacity, multimodal exercise appears to have a broad effect on improving muscle strength, balance, and physical functioning of the lower extremity, and reducing falls relative to progressive resistance exercise alone.

Exploratory Study of the Clinical Utility of the Pizzi Healthy Weight Management Assessment (PHWMA) Among Burmese High School Students.

OBJECTIVE: Immigrant youth in the United States are at greater risk for weight management problems than non-Hispanic White youth. We used the Pizzi Healthy Weight Management Assessment (PHWMA) to capture data on health perceptions and weight management behaviors among adolescent Burmese refugees. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study of 20 Burmese refugee high school students. RESULTS: The results captured an understanding of health perceptions and weight management behaviors of the program participants. The PHWMA was found to be a valid and reliable tool for use by occupational therapy practitioners. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study can inform program development and evaluation in outreach efforts to enhance minority youths' health and well-being.

A 13C and 1H NMR spectroscopic investigation of the structure of the iminium ion with a dipolar form in metal complexes of 2-N-substituted N-confused porphyrins.

The crystal structures of chloro(2-aza-2-ethoxycarbonylmethyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21-carbaporphyrinato-N,N'N'') zinc(II) [Zn(2-NCH2COOC2H5NCTPP)Cl; 4], (2-aza-2-ethoxycarbonylmethyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21-carbaporphyrinato-N,N'N'') palladium(II) [Pd(2-NCH2COOC2H5NCTPP); 5], bromo(2-aza-2-ethoxycarbonylmethyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21-carbaporphyrinato-N,N'N'') manganese(III) [Mn(2-NCH2COOC2H5NCTPP)Br; 6], [2-aza-(3'-phenoxypropyl)-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21-carbaporphyrinato-N,N'N''] nickel(II) [Ni(2-NCH2CH2CH2OC6H5NCTPP); 7] and chloro(2-aza-2-methoxycarbonylmethyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21-carbaporphyrinato-N,N'N'') zinc(II) [Zn(2-NCH2COOCH3NCTPP)Cl; 8] have been established. The g value of 9.54, which was measured from the parallel polarization of the X-band EPR spectra in CHCl3 at 4 K, is consistent with the high spin mononuclear manganese(III) centre (S = 2) in 6. The magnitude of the axial (D) zero-field splitting (ZFS) for the mononuclear Mn(III) centre in 6 was determined approximately to be 1.63 cm(−1) by paramagnetic susceptibility measurements. The NMR spectroscopic investigation of the iminium ion with a dipolar canonical contribution to the metal complexes 5­7, Pd(2-NCH2C6H5NCTPP) (10) and Ni(2-NCH2C6H5NCTPP) (11) in CDCl3 is reported. A resonance between the dipolar canonical form II and covalent canonical form I exists for complexes 5­7, 10 and 11 in CDCl3. To develop the correlations between δ13C [C(3)], δ1H [H(3)] and the canonical form II in 5­7, 10 and 11, this work thoroughly examines the 13C and 1H NMR of N+=CH(Ar) fragment on seven metal complexes of 2-N substituted N-confused porphyrin. According to these results, the 13C [C(3)] and 1H [H(3)] chemical shifts of the N+=CH(Ar) fragment at 20 °C in CDCl3 are separately located at 152.6 ± 0.5 and 8.30 ± 0.15 ppm respectively for the iminium ion. This exists as a dipolar canonical form II for complexes 5­7, 10 and 11, and the N­CH(Ar) group appears at 121.1 ± 0.1 ppm and 6.35 ± 0.01 ppm, which is in a covalent canonical form I contribution to complexes 4 and 8. X-Ray diffraction data indicate that N(2)­C(3) = 1.315 ± 0.011 Å for the dipolar contribution of 5­7, 10­13, while N(2)­C(3) = 1.331 ± 0.008 Å for the covalent contribution of 4 and 8.

Bandpass filter settings differentially affect measurement of P50 sensory gating in children and adults.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of four different bandpass filter settings on measures of the P50 component and the signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of averaged ERPs obtained from a sensory gating paradigm employing paired-click stimuli. METHODS: Participants were adults (n=18) 20-55years old and children (n=25) 5-10years old who were free of neurological disorders. RESULTS: Results show that the filter settings (0.23-75Hz, 10-50Hz, 10-75Hz, and 10-200Hz) differentially affected the P50 amplitude, noise power and SNR measures of the conditioning and test clicks, and P50 T/C ratios. CONCLUSIONS: The 10-50Hz filter setting may be optimal in studies that include only adults as these settings resulted in the smallest mean P50 T/C ratio, a reasonable standard deviation (SD) for the ratio, and the highest SNRs. The 10-200Hz filter may be the best for studying young children as this setting had the smallest mean and SD of P50 T/C ratios for these participants. SIGNIFICANCE: In studies that include both adults and children investigators are advised to use the 10-200Hz filter setting because the smaller variability of sensory gating in the child group helps ensure better homogeneity of variance measures between the groups.

Probing the relative contribution of the first and second responses to sensory gating indices: a meta-analysis.

Sensory gating deficit in schizophrenia patients has been well-documented. However, a central conceptual issue, regarding whether the gating deficit results from an abnormal initial response (S1) or difficulty in attenuating the response to the repeating stimulus (S2), raise doubts about the validity and utility of the S2/S1 ratio as a measure of sensory gating. This meta-analysis study, therefore, sought to determine the consistency and relative magnitude of the effect of the two essential components (S1 and S2) and the ratio. The results of weighted random effects meta-analysis revealed that the overall effect sizes for the S1 amplitude, S2 amplitude, and P50 S2/S1 ratio were -0.19 (small), 0.65 (medium to large), and 0.93 (large), respectively. These results confirm that the S2/S1 ratio and the repeating (S2) stimulus differ robustly between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls in contrast to the consistent but smaller effect size for the S1 amplitude. These findings are more likely to reflect defective inhibition of repeating redundant input rather than an abnormal response to novel stimuli.

Individual differences in error monitoring in healthy adults: psychological symptoms and antisocial personality characteristics.

Recent studies have investigated the relationship between psychological symptoms and personality traits and error monitoring measured by error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) event-related potential (ERP) components, yet there remains a paucity of studies examining the collective simultaneous effects of psychological symptoms and personality traits on error monitoring. This present study, therefore, examined whether measures of hyperactivity-impulsivity, depression, anxiety and antisocial personality characteristics could collectively account for significant interindividual variability of both ERN and Pe amplitudes, in 29 healthy adults with no known disorders, ages 18-30 years. The bivariate zero-order correlation analyses found that only the anxiety measure was significantly related to both ERN and Pe amplitudes. However, multiple regression analyses that included all four characteristic measures while controlling for number of segments in the ERP average revealed that both depression and antisocial personality characteristics were significant predictors for the ERN amplitudes whereas antisocial personality was the only significant predictor for the Pe amplitude. These findings suggest that psychological symptoms and personality traits are associated with individual variations in error monitoring in healthy adults, and future studies should consider these variables when comparing group difference in error monitoring between adults with and without disabilities.

Neural correlates of error monitoring in an adult with Klinefelter's syndrome: a case report.

Studies have indicated that individuals with Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) exhibit deficits in executive functions. However, little attention has been paid to investigate control mechanism of executive functions, i.e., error monitoring, in individuals with KS. Two event-related potential (ERP) components, i.e., error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe), are the electrophysiological markers of error monitoring. This case report presents the findings of error monitoring from an adult with KS using the electrophysiological technique. This KS individual displayed small ERN and Pe amplitudes, suggesting that he may exhibit deficient error detection and reaction, a lack of conscious error recognition, and nonproficient adjustment after an error. The findings of this report should stimulate further study in error monitoring in individuals with KS.

Middle and Late Latency ERP Components Discriminate between Adults, Typical Children, and Children with Sensory Processing Disorders.

This study examined whether combinations of middle latency sensory evoked potential components and late components, possibly indicative of cognitive processing, can discriminate between three sample groups; 18 adults (20-55 years), 25 typical children (5-10 years) and 28 children with sensory processing disorders (SPD) (5-12 years). Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings were made while participants heard random presentations of two auditory stimuli (1 and 3 kHz) each at two intensities (50 and 70 dB). Amplitude and latency measurements were obtained for the N1, P2, N2, and P3 components from the averaged event-related potential (ERP) for each of the four auditory stimuli. Discriminant analyses revealed two functions, one which described the relationship of the components on SPD deficit continuum and one which described the relationship of these components on a developmental continuum. Together, these two functions correctly classified 90.5% of the participants as to their group membership. These results are discussed in relation to neurodevelopmental theories.

Munc18-1 binding to the neuronal SNARE complex controls synaptic vesicle priming.

Munc18-1 and soluble NSF attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) are critical for synaptic vesicle fusion. Munc18-1 binds to the SNARE syntaxin-1 folded into a closed conformation and to SNARE complexes containing open syntaxin-1. Understanding which steps in fusion depend on the latter interaction and whether Munc18-1 competes with other factors such as complexins for SNARE complex binding is critical to elucidate the mechanisms involved. In this study, we show that lentiviral expression of Munc18-1 rescues abrogation of release in Munc18-1 knockout mice. We describe point mutations in Munc18-1 that preserve tight binding to closed syntaxin-1 but markedly disrupt Munc18-1 binding to SNARE complexes containing open syntaxin-1. Lentiviral rescue experiments reveal that such disruption selectively impairs synaptic vesicle priming but not Ca(2+)-triggered fusion of primed vesicles. We also find that Munc18-1 and complexin-1 bind simultaneously to SNARE complexes. These results suggest that Munc18-1 binding to SNARE complexes mediates synaptic vesicle priming and that the resulting primed state involves a Munc18-1-SNARE-complexin macromolecular assembly that is poised for Ca(2+) triggering of fusion.

Maturation of sensory gating performance in children with and without sensory processing disorders.

Recent interest in sensory gating in children with and without neuropsychological disorders has resulted in a number of studies and the results regarding the developmental trajectory of sensory gating are inconsistent. We investigated the maturational course of sensory gating in samples of typically developing children and children with sensory processing deficits (SPD) and compared their performance to adults. Besides gating ratios, we also examined the brain responses to conditioning and test click stimuli in the sensory gating paradigm separately to clarify if the changes in click amplitudes could explain the maturational change in the T/C ratio in children. Eighteen adults with no known disorders, 25 typical children, and 28 children with SPD participated in this study. The children ranged in ages between 5 and 12 years. The three groups differed in their P50 and N100 ERP components. Both child groups displayed significantly less gating than the adults. Children with SPD demonstrated significantly less gating and more within-group variability compared to typical children. There were significant relationships between age and T/C ratios and between age and peak-to-peak amplitude of the conditioning click in typical children but not in children with SPD. Typical children demonstrated significantly smaller brain response amplitudes to the clicks as compared to adults. These findings suggest that there is a maturational course of sensory gating in typical children and if there is a maturational trajectory in children with SPD it appears to be different than typical children. In addition, children with SPD were found to be lacking in their ability to filter out repeated auditory input and failed to selectively regulate their sensitivity to sensory stimuli.