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The transition to secondary education is a sensitive period for social and academic development and also for student identity. However, there is scarce evidence of the development of reading comprehension and theory of mind in pupils with cochlear implant (CI) during the educational trajectory. The results show that pupils with CI obtain age-appropriate reading scores during the educational transition. Theory of mind development seems to be heterogeneous in CI users and be affected after the educational transition compared to their own performance in the first wave. This variability could be related to adaptation to secondary education and their individual characteristics.

The acquisition of effective reading comprehension for adolescents with a cochlear implant (CI) in inclusive settings is crucial for ensuring the benefit of current traditional reading curricula and instructional practices. Executive functions (EF) are recognized as important cognitive processes during reading by students with typical hearing (TH). This study compared the relationship between EF and reading comprehension in adolescents with TH and a CI. Three tests sessions were performed on two groups of adolescents between 12 and 16 years old (36 with CI and 54 with TH). Reading comprehension was assessed by a standardized reading battery and EF by computerized tests. The results indicated that adolescents with CI perform EF tasks with a similar efficiency as the TH group, but the performance of CI group on expository texts was lower than in TH students. Reading comprehension of expository texts was related to inhibition and shifting in adolescents with CI.

Previous research has shown a possible link between reading comprehension and theory of mind (ToM), but these findings are unclear in adolescents with cochlear implants (CI). In the present study, reading comprehension and ToM were assessed in adolescents with CI and the relation between both skills was also studied. Two sessions were performed on two groups of adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years of age (36 adolescents with CI and 54 participants with typical hearing, TH). They were evaluated by means of a standardized reading battery, a false belief task, and Faux Pas stories. The results indicated that reading and cognitive ToM were more developed in the TH group than in adolescents with CI. However, early-CI and binaural group performance were close to the TH group in narrative and expository comprehension and cognitive ToM. The results also indicated that cognitive ToM and reading comprehension appear to be related in deaf adolescents.

The transition to secondary education is a sensitive period for social and academic development and also for student identity. However, there is scarce evidence of the development of reading comprehension and theory of mind in pupils with cochlear implant (CI) during the educational trajectory. The results show that pupils with CI obtain age-appropriate reading scores during the educational transition. Theory of mind development seems to be heterogeneous in CI users and be affected after the educational transition compared to their own performance in the first wave. This variability could be related to adaptation to secondary education and their individual characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acquisition of effective reading comprehension for adolescents with a cochlear implant (CI) in inclusive settings is crucial for ensuring the benefit of current traditional reading curricula and instructional practices. Executive functions (EF) are recognized as important cognitive processes during reading by students with typical hearing (TH). This study compared the relationship between EF and reading comprehension in adolescents with TH and a CI. Three tests sessions were performed on two groups of adolescents between 12 and 16 years old (36 with CI and 54 with TH). Reading comprehension was assessed by a standardized reading battery and EF by computerized tests. The results indicated that adolescents with CI perform EF tasks with a similar efficiency as the TH group, but the performance of CI group on expository texts was lower than in TH students. Reading comprehension of expository texts was related to inhibition and shifting in adolescents with CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allopregnanolone is a neurosteroid that has been reported to fluctuate during early developmental stages. Previous experiments reported the importance of neonatal endogenous allopregnanolone levels for the maturation of the central nervous system and particularly for the hippocampus. Changes in neonatal allopregnanolone levels have been related to altered adult behaviour and with psychopathological susceptibility, including anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and drug abuse. However, the mechanism underlying these changes remains to be elucidated. In the present study we assessed changes in hippocampal expression of α4 and δ GABAA receptor (GABAAR) subunits as a consequence of neonatal finasteride (a 5-α reductase inhibitor) administration during early development (PD6 to PD15) in male rats. We observed that the treatment altered the temporal window of the natural peak in the expression of these subunits during development. Additionally, the level of these subunits were higher than in non-handled and control animals in the adult hippocampus. We observed that in adulthood, neonatal finasteride-treated animals presented an anxiogenic-like profile in response to progesterone administration which was absent in the rest of the groups. In conclusion, these results corroborate the relevance of neonatal maintenance of neurosteroid levels for behavioural anxiety responses in the adult, and point to some of the mechanisms involved in this alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent findings indicate that neurosteroids could act as important modulators during brain development. The aim of the present work is to screen whether developmentally altered AlloP levels may have long-lasting effects on behaviour and influence the emotional response to several GABAA receptor modulating drugs in adulthood. Acute allopregnanolone administration (10mg/kg) in the fifth postnatal day: (1) provoked long-term effects, as an increase of the novelty-directed locomotor activity and a decrease of its habituation in the open field in adult rats; (2) altered GABAA receptor response in adulthood, as reflected by the disruption of the effects of midazolam (1mg/kg) and flumazenil (10mg/kg) on the locomotor habituation in adulthood. Whereas the behavioural responses to 0.75mg/kg of lorazepam or 3mg/kg of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4-c]pyridin-3-ol (THIP) were not affected, although lorazepam decreased locomotor activity in both neonatal AlloP and control rats, probably related to the sedative properties of the dose tested. Also, in the elevated plus-maze, the anxiolytic effects of lorazepam were observed in controls, but not in neonatal allopregnanolone-treated rats. This suggests that neonatal allopregnanolone decreases sensitivity to the anxiolytic effects of lorazepam at a dose of 0.75mg/kg. Results suggest that alterations in neonatal allopregnanolone could result in an altered GABAA receptor response in adulthood that is evident behaviourally. These results point out the importance of the maturation of the endogenous neurosteroid mechanisms in the brain related to locomotor response to novelty and the responses to GABAA modulators in adulthood. This work opens future directions focused on the effects of acute and long-lasting neonatal alterations of AlloP levels on vulnerability to psychopathology in adulthood. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have previously shown differences on learning processes between alcohol drinking and non-alcohol drinking rats.Underlying these effects, functional differences in the septo-hippocampal pathway were hypothesized. We have performed a dose–response study for intrahippocampal nicotine (CA1) on acquisition and extinction of the lever-press response and antagonization test by co-administration of mecamylamine. Results show that the administration of nicotine in CA1 region has a detrimental dose-dependent effect on acquisition in alcohol drinkers, with a dose of 10 nM being the most disruptive. In the controls, only doses of 10 and 20 nM had detrimental effect. The effect of nicotine (10 nM) was partially (alcoholics) or fully (controls) antagonized by mecamylamine co-administration (30 nM). Summarizing, the alcohol groups showed a dose–response curve for nicotine shifted leftwards, and a partial antagonism of these effects by mecamylamine; these effects may be consequence of the functional sensitization of the nicotinic responsivity in the CA1 region which were produced by the chronic alcohol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous studies have documented a decrease in the ability of neonatal hypothyroid animals to learn and habituate to maze tests, and an increase in spontaneous activity. However, there is little information about the effects of perinatal (i.e., prenatal and postnatal) hypothyroidism on behaviour. The present study was designed to assess whether perinatal hypothyroidism in rats induces alteration on acquisition and/or short- and long-term retention of a learned response in male Wistar rats. Perinatal hypothyroidism was induced by prolonged (E9-P21) exposure of pregnant and lactating dams to methimazole (administered orally in drinking water, 0.2 mg/ml). Cognitive function was tested at 50 days by means of a step-through passive avoidance task. The effects of perinatal hypothyroidism on the retention of the passive avoidance response are long lasting being, however, highly dependent on the retention after the original training. Our results showed that methimazole-treated rats performed more poorly when retention was tested at long-term (24 h and 7 days) retention interval. Instead, methimazole-treated rats showed longer retrieval latencies than the control ones did when retention was tested at short term (1 h). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Several studies have highlighted the role that early postnatal levels of allopregnanolone play in the development of the CNS and adult behavior. Changes in allopregnanolone levels related to stress have been observed during early postnatal periods, and perinatal stress has been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders. The alteration of early postnatal allopregnanolone levels in the first weeks of life has been proven to affect adult behaviors, such as anxiety-related behaviors and the processing of sensory inputs. This review focuses on the first studies about the possible relationship between the early postnatal allopregnanolone levels and the vulnerability to abuse of drugs such as alcohol in adulthood, given that (1) changes in neonatal allopregnanolone levels affect novelty exploration and novelty seeking has been linked to vulnerability to drug abuse; (2) early postnatal administration of progesterone, the main allopregnanolone precursor, affects the maturation of dopaminergic meso-striatal systems, which have been related to novelty seeking and drug abuse; and (3) alcohol consumption increases plasma and brain allopregnanolone levels in animals and humans. Manipulating neonatal allopregnanolone by administering finasteride, an inhibitor of the 5α-reductase enzyme that participates in allopregnanolone synthesis, increases alcohol consumption and decreases the locomotor stimulant effects of low alcohol doses. At a molecular level, finasteride decreases dopamine and serotonin in ventral striatum and dopamine release in nucleus accumbens. Preliminary results suggest that serotonin 5HT3 receptors could also be affected. Although an in-depth study is necessary, evidence suggests that there is a relation between early postnatal allopregnanolone and vulnerability to drug use/abuse., (© 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background/aims: Recent findings suggest that neurosteroids are involved in brain development. The present study focused on the long-term effects of developmentally altered allopregnanolone (AlloP) levels on anxiety-like behavior in adulthood., Method: We administered AlloP (10 mg/kg) to rat pups once a day from the 5th to the 9th day after birth. A dose-response study on midazolam in the elevated plus maze test was carried out in adulthood (experiment 1) in order to screen GABAA-benzodiazepine function alterations. Given that the anxiety-like responses were not affected by AlloP, we doubled the initial AlloP dose (experiment 2). One group of pups was left undisturbed with their dams in order to control the effects of daily handling. Only males were behaviorally tested., Results: Neonatal AlloP administration (10 mg/kg) did not alter the behavioral response to midazolam in adulthood at the doses tested. Neonatal AlloP administration at the higher dose (20 mg/kg) induced an anxiolytic-like profile in adulthood (increased entries into and time spent in the open arms), without affecting motor activity. The behavioral effects of neonatal AlloP administration were both selective and independent of daily handling., Conclusion: Alterations in AlloP levels during maturation could partly explain the interindividual differences shown by adult subjects in response to environmental stress., (Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Recent findings indicate that neurosteroids could act as important modulators during brain development. The aim of the present work is to screen whether developmentally altered AlloP levels may have long-lasting effects on behaviour and influence the emotional response to several GABA(A) receptor modulating drugs in adulthood. Acute allopregnanolone administration (10mg/kg) in the fifth postnatal day: (1) provoked long-term effects, as an increase of the novelty-directed locomotor activity and a decrease of its habituation in the open field in adult rats; (2) altered GABA(A) receptor response in adulthood, as reflected by the disruption of the effects of midazolam (1mg/kg) and flumazenil (10mg/kg) on the locomotor habituation in adulthood. Whereas the behavioural responses to 0.75 mg/kg of lorazepam or 3mg/kg of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4-c]pyridin-3-ol (THIP) were not affected, although lorazepam decreased locomotor activity in both neonatal AlloP and control rats, probably related to the sedative properties of the dose tested. Also, in the elevated plus-maze, the anxiolytic effects of lorazepam were observed in controls, but not in neonatal allopregnanolone-treated rats. This suggests that neonatal allopregnanolone decreases sensitivity to the anxiolytic effects of lorazepam at a dose of 0.75 mg/kg. Results suggest that alterations in neonatal allopregnanolone could result in an altered GABA(A) receptor response in adulthood that is evident behaviourally. These results point out the importance of the maturation of the endogenous neurosteroid mechanisms in the brain related to locomotor response to novelty and the responses to GABA(A) modulators in adulthood. This work opens future directions focused on the effects of acute and long-lasting neonatal alterations of AlloP levels on vulnerability to psychopathology in adulthood.