Background: Increasing clinical and scientific attention is given to the transition of neurological stages from child to adult. Data on brain plasticity during adolescence is interesting for providing adequate evidence-based medical attention to neurological conditions in this population. Acquired aphasia is well described in adults and children, but not in adolescence. Objective: We describe a 5-year follow-up of language in three adolescent subjects with post-brain injury aphasia. Methods: We analysed and scored formal aspects of language three times, language hemispheric dominance twice with dichotic listening test and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain activation patterns that supported expressive and comprehensive language during the recovery period. Results: We found similarities to both paediatric and adult aphasia in these three adolescents. While the level of recovery resembled that of children with aphasia, a more efficient language rehabilitation occurred in those who remained with left hemispheric dominance in the chronic stage, as it is reported in adults. Conclusions: Our analysis and long-term follow-up provide data for a better understanding on how the injured brain matures during adolescence. More studies with larger samples will help to understand the function of the remaining networks and the recovery from injury in this particular age group.

Objective: To evaluate the capability of children with Dravet syndrome to generate brain gamma-oscillatory activity in response to auditory steady-state stimulation. Methods: Fifty-one subjects were included: 13 with Dravet syndrome with SCN1A gene alterations, 26 with non-Dravet epilepsies and 12 healthy controls. Responses to auditory steady-state stimulation elicited with a chirp-modulated tone between 1 and 120 Hz were collected in subjects and compared across groups. Results: Subjects with Dravet syndrome showed weak or no responses in the 1-120 Hz frequency range. Healthy controls showed oscillatory responses following the frequency of the modulation that were maximal in the low (30-70 Hz) and high (80-120) gamma-ranges both, in the power and inter-trial coherence estimates. Non-Dravet epileptic children showed differences in the auditory responses when compared with the healthy controls but were able to generate oscillatory evoked activities following the frequency-varying stimulation. Conclusions: The ability to generate brain gamma-oscillatory activity of children with Dravet in response to a chirp-modulated auditory stimulus is highly impaired, is not due to epilepsy and is consistent with the Nav1.1 channel dysfunction affecting interneuron activity seen in Dravet mouse models. Significance: The reported deficits in the brain oscillatory activity evoked by chirp modulated tones in children with Dravet is compatible with Dravet syndrome disease mechanisms and constitutes a potential biomarker for future disease-modifying interventions. (C) 2019 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction The aim of this research is to analyze the clinical utility of the "Theory of Mind" (TM) subtest of NEPSY-II (Korkman et al., 2014). Methodology TM was applied to 244 school aged children with normal intelligence: a control group (n=194) and clinical groups (n=50): ASD-grade 1 (n= 10); procedural learning disorder ( PLD, n=24); and ADHD (n=16). Results and Discussion We do a examination of the factorial structure through a exploratory (KMO=0.62 and MSA=0,54-0,75) and confirmatory (chi =22,75 p=0,504; TLI=1,04; CFI=1; RMSEA=0) analyses. The 21 items of the TM. 3 factors are obtained that explain 62% of the total variance: Theory of mind (items 1/2/7); Social stories comprehension (items 5/8/10/14) and Contextual coherence (items 9/12 / 16-21). The descriptive statistics are provided from the calculation of validity and reliability. None of the groups differ in the first two factors (U-mann-Whitney). In Contextual coherence, the PLD group and the control groups (p=,001) differed significantly of the ASD group (p=,025). The difficulties in understanding information in a quick and simultaneous way and integrating it coherently have been shown to be part of the neuropsychological profile of the PLD. Conclusion Our study provide a new correction an interpretation of the TM that evalautes Central coherence.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) are characterized by persistent patterns of inattention and impulsivity-hyperactivity, besides deficits in other cognitive functions, such as processing speed, despite of not having been completely clarified. This study aimed to determine whether there are differences between children with and without adhd in reaction time and in intra-individual variability in reaction time (VRT). Using a quasi-experimental design, 474 children (209 with adhd and 265 controls) answered the aula test; nonparametric analyses were used. Results revealed that children with adhd combined subtype manifested a higher reaction time in targets and commission errors, while children with adhd combined and inattentive subtypes showed greater vrt than the control group. Evidently, the vrt is a key marker of ADHD.

The diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is mainly based on structured scales, such as Conners' ADHD Rating Scale (EDAH in the Spanish version) and DSM interviews. The use of technologies in neuropsychological assessment, such as the AULA virtual reality based test leads to more accurate diagnosis. The current study presents findings from analyzing the external validity of AULA and its contribution to the diagnosis of ADHD. Four hundred and seven children (272 girls and 135 boys) from 6 to 16 years old (213 with ADHD diagnosis, 105 inattentive children, 108 combined-type, and 194 controls) were evaluated. First, a factor analysis of AULA variables was conducted in order to reduce data to factor and 5 factors or components that account for 82.37% of the total variance were obtained from 407 subjects, namely, sustained attention, impulsivity control, processing speed, response variability, and control of motor activity. Second, a discriminant analysis was then performed on data obtained by participants from whom the five factors were obtained, showing that AULA presents moderate levels of both specificity and sensitivity. Finally, in order to study whether AULA adds relevant information in the diagnosis of ADHD, a cluster analysis was carried out, showing 4 clusters in the analysis of conglomerates with the control group and 6 groups of clusters in the ADHD group. In summary, AULA test shows adequate external validity, allows correct classification of children with and without attentional problems, and confirms and provides additional ADHD diagnostic information that it is essential for the design of interventions.

AIM: To contribute to neuropsychological profiling of developmental amnesia subsequent to bilateral damage to both hippocampi in early age. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The total sample of 24 schoolchildren from both sexes is distributed in three groups: perinatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and everyday complaints of memory in school age (n = 8); perinatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy without memory complaints (n = 7); and a group of typically developing (n = 9). All participants in every groups did have normal general intelligence and attention. Both clinical groups had, as another clinical consequence, spastic cerebral palsy (diplegia). Neuropsychological exam consisted on tests of general intelligence, attentional abilities, declarative memory and semantic knowledge. All participants had a brain magnetic resonance image and spectroscopy of hippocampi. Scheltens criteria were used for visual estimation of hippocampal atrophy. Parametric and non-parametric statistical contrasts were made. RESULTS: Despite preservation of semantic and procedural learning, declarative-episodic memory is impaired in the first group versus the other two groups. A significant proportion of bilateral hippocampal atrophy is only present in the first group versus the other two non-amnesic groups using Scheltens estimation on MRI. Two cases without evident atrophy did have diminished NAA/(Cho + Cr) index in both hippocampi. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results contribute to delineate developmental amnesia as an specific impairment due to early partial bihippocampal damage, in agreement with previous studies. After diagnosis of developmental amnesia, a specific psychoeducational intervention must be made; also this impairment could be candidate for pharmacological trials in the future.

El TAP es una afectación poco conocida. Ha sido denominado de múltiples formas según los diferentes autores. Se diagnostica con menos frecuencia que otros trastornos del aprendizaje/neurodesarrollo debido a que los síntomas se confunden con frecuencia con los de otras patologías. Se caracteriza especialmente por una perturbación de la coordinación motora, aunque la causa explicativa del mismo reside en la dificultad para el desarrollo de ciertas habilidades perceptivo-motoras y de rutinas cognitivas. Actualmente hay una gran variedad de enfoques de intervención (sobre todo en el ámbito motor), con diverso grado de evidencia científica.