or more assessments during childhood and adolescence revealed three patterns of visual P3b during development. Group I with the highest P300 amplitude showed relative stability over the 8–18 year age range (26%). Those in Group II exhibited higher amplitude in the earlier years of observation but showed a decrease in P3b amplitude. This pattern was the most frequently occurring pattern (54%). Group III had a distinctly lower visual P300 amplitude throughout the observation period. This pattern occurred much less frequently (20%). Importantly, the latter pattern was highly associated with risk for child/adolescent disorders, some of which are considered prodromal for substance use disorder. Also, a much greater proportion of high risk males followed the Group III pattern.
