The electrophysiological technique Event-related potentials (ERP) has been widely employed in the study of brain activity reflecting specific cognitive processes. This current article presents a critical review of the ERP studies conducted in Brazilian universities, with special emphasis on their main goals and methodological approaches. The examined studies investigated electrophysiological effects traditionally reported in the ERP literature, as the P300, N400 and MMN effects, providing theoretically relevant results and demonstrating the usefulness of this technique for the investigation of several research topics. Possibilities concerning alternative methodological approaches on ERP analysis and the employment of this technique in the study of a variety of psychological processes are examined and discussed.
Electrophysiology; Cognition; Neuroscience