• adolescence
• alcohol
• development
• ERP
• markers

Adolescence is characterized by substantial brain maturation and concurrent alterations in sleep patterns and structure. This developmental phase is also associated with notable psychosocial transformations, including the initiation of alcohol consumption. In this study, we examined longitudinally collected Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) obtained during NREM sleep throughout adolescence. More specifically, we investigated how the amplitude and frequency parameters of ERPs change throughout adolescence and whether any of these parameters could potentially predict alcohol usage. Our participant sample consisted of 88 American individuals ranging in age from 12 to 21 years who underwent polysomnography (PSG) recording with an acoustic stimulation paradigm. We employed linear mixed-effects models (LMEMs) to analyze changes in ERP components across adolescence. Our findings revealed that the amplitudes and latencies of the P200, N550, and P900 components undergo dramatic changes with age. Furthermore, we found that moderate/heavy alcohol users and participants belonging to high-risk populations had lower odds of evoking the N350 component. Finally, the latency of the P200 component could serve as a possible predictor of future alcohol consumption.