The clinical utility of the auditory P300 latency subcomponent event-related potential in preclinical diagnosis of patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease

• Patients with AD had significantly prolonged P300 latencies compared to unaffected controls.
• Differences in P300 latency effect sizes were influenced by sample characteristics and EEG/ERP lab methodologies.
• MCI patients had prolonged P300 latencies compared to controls, but shortened P300 latencies when compared to AD patients.
• Larger P300 effect size was estimated at Pz relative to midline electrodes between the AD and MCI patient analysis.

The present meta-analysis investigated the clinical utility of the auditory P300 latency event-related potential in differentiating patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and unaffected controls. Effect size estimates were computed from mean P300 latency measurements at midline electrodes between patients and unaffected controls using the random effects restricted maximum likelihood model. The effects of clinical and ERP/EEG methological variables were assessed in a moderator analysis. P300 latency was found to be significantly prolonged in patients with AD (and MCI) compared to unaffected controls. Shortened P300 latencies were observed when comparing patients with MCI to patients with AD. Clinically relevant differences in P300 latency effect sizes were associated with mean age, interstimulus interval, stimulus difference, target frequency, reference electrode, and sampling rate. The meta-analytic findings provide robust statistical evidence for the use of the auditory P300 latency subcomponent as a biological marker of prodromal AD.