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Introduction: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most frequent genetic disorders, with a prevalence of around 1:3500. The most important concern for patients and their families is the increased risk of developing benign and malignant tumours in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Up to 80% of patients, however, experience difficulties in learning processes. Symptoms compatible with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are present in as many as 60% of patients. Learning difficulties are the chief cause of morbidity throughout their lives., Development: Some recent studies have made it possible to offer a better description of the cognitive and developmental phenotype in patients with NF1. Similarly, advances in our understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular processes in cognitive impairment and access to sophisticated molecular genetics techniques have allowed a number of scientific disciplines to work together in the search for an understanding and potential solution to the cognitive disorders in this population., Conclusions: Preclinical studies show the enormous potential of certain pharmacological interventions. Transferring the results obtained in the treatment of learning difficulties in animal models of NF1 to the treatment of patients is a step that is currently under development. If it were effective, it would open the door to numerous areas of research that would rapidly increase our knowledge and the possibilities of intervention in this and many other learning disorders.

Introduction and Development: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is still today one of the most widely researched medical problems around the world. It is the most common neuropsychiatric diagnosis in school-age children. The fact that it will affect the patient throughout their whole life together with the social and economic impact it has on the individual and on society are clearly acknowledged and are a motive for concern. The clinician who is faced with treating these patients has no doubt that this entity presents in familial groups. This gives rise to obvious difficulties when it comes to establishing therapeutic processes. Although intensive searches for genetic markers have been carried out, methodological problems that arise in the definition of phenotypes, as well as in the selection of genetic techniques and the genes targeted for research, have meant that less progress has been made in these studies than was initially expected. Some of the aspects that have been advancing in recent years include clarification of the clinical phenotype to be studied, the analysis of clinical information to be used for the selection of the genetic sample and agreements about the genes the search is to be focused on. Today several genetic markers that are highly associated with the entity are known., Conclusions: We are very close to identifying specific genes, although this is only the first step towards understanding the underlying problem; how to use that information to benefit the patient is a challenge that researchers are currently facing.

Introduction and Method: Tic disorders can be severe enough to be incapacitating, but in most cases the observation of tics should alert the clinician to the possible presence of other conditions that may be more impairing even if less directly observable. The comorbid diagnoses that are best documented are obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)., Conclusions: Treatment of Tourette syndrome combined with ADHD is often challenging. Alpha 2 agonists, such as guanfacine, or non stimulant options such as atomoxetine, where available, are worth considering, although many individuals with Tourette syndrome and ADHD can be successfully treated with judicious doses of stimulant medications.

Neuroimaging techniques are increasingly being applied to the study of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This review focuses on magnetic resonance imaging studies of the brain anatomy of ADHD, which have now been conducted for over a decade. Most studies have focused on frontal striatal regions and have tended to find smaller volumes in children with ADHD relative to controls. Recently published analyses with the largest sample of patients and controls found that ADHD is associated with a statistically significant global reduction in brain volume in both boys and girls of 3 4%, which is confirmed in a meta analysis of this global measure. Specific regional differences have been found in many studies in the basal ganglia with the most prominent differences being found in the cerebellum.

Introduction: The diagnosis of ADHD can be determined reliably from the clinical history, but the causes and pathophysiology of the disorder remain unclear., Conclusions: Recent findings using magnetic resonance imaging, and imaging with PET and SPECT, as well as studies that probe brain functioning through transcranial magnetic stimulation suggest that circuits linking prefrontal cortex, striatum, and cerebellum are not functioning normally in ADHD.

Introduction: This review presents the maturational model of the right hemisphere syndrome in children, its clinical manifestations and its relationship with non-verbal learning disabilities., Development and Conclusions: The white matter model proposed by Rourke is presented and the clinical symptoms that are generally associated with right hemisphere dysfunction, independent of which hemisphere is affected, are highlighted. It has been proposed that the right hemisphere have proportionally more white matter than the left hemisphere which implies different adaptation processes for each one after brain lesions. There are different factors that determine these results: brain plasticity acts in different ways in each hemisphere; early brain injuries, affect specially right hemispheric functioning in its abilities to be in charge of new material processing and building new schemes that are also used by the left hemisphere. Some pathologies that are related with the clinical manifestations of non-verbal learning disabilities are presented. According with this model, they display basic neuropsychological features, even though their clinical manifestations could change between them. The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder is specially considered as the most recent evidence of right hemispheric dysfunction, although results in this pathology are controversial, from the neuropsychological point of view. In general, the right hemisphere lesion in children has different implications when it is compared with adult's lesions. The white matter model could explain different processes in the plasticity brain mechanism. Preservation of basic language aspects is observed, but a deficit in non-verbal abilities that interferes with normal functioning is a rule. A specific clinical profile of assets and deficits is presented in most of the cases. These characteristics should be considered in treatment implementations.