In Experiment 1, groups of hippocampal and control rats learned a simultaneous discrimination habit and were subsequently tested for its retention under variable contextual conditions. All groups recalled the discrimination response to an equally high level when testing conditions were constant throughout, but the hippocampal group showed impaired memory when contextual stimuli at recall testing did not conform to those of original learning. Experiment 2 indicated that the hippocampal impairment was not simply the result of introducing novel stimuli. In Experiment 3, animals were administered a reversal learning task with contextual stimuli varied between the two tests. The typically observed impairment of hippocampal animals on this task was reduced by contrasting contextual conditions. The data are seen to support a context-retrieval interpretation of hippocampal function.

Objective Universal newborn hearing screening has become standard practice in many countries. The primary goal of this study was to assess the impact of early identification of permanent childhood hearing loss on oral communication development. Setting Participants were recruited from three clinical programmes in two cities in the province of Ontario, Canada. The study sample was born during two consecutive periods of newborn hearing screening. The first period, prior to 2002, was targeted on high-risk infants only, and the second, from 2002, included both high-and standard-risk infants (universal newborn hearing screening -UNHS). All children were enrolled in rehabilitation programmes focused on oral language development. Methods In this multicentre observational study, 65 children under the age of five years with onset of hearing loss before six months of age, 26 identified through systematic newborn screening (14 through targeted screening and 12 through UNHS) and 39 without screening, were assessed with an extensive battery of child-and parent-administered speech and language measures. The degree of hearing loss ranged from mild to profound with 22 children in the mild, moderate and moderately severe categories and 43 in the severe and profound categories. Data are reported for the three-year study period. Results The screened group of children was identified at a median age of 6.6 (interquartile range, 3.0-8.2) months and children referred from sources other than newborn screening were diagnosed at a median age of 16.5 (interquartile range, 10.2-29.0) months. Assessment of oral communication development showed no significant difference between the screened and unscreened groups. The communication outcomes for children identified before 12 months of age did not differ from those of later identified children. Conclusions Systematic screening of newborn hearing results in earlier identification and intervention for children with permanent hearing loss. Superior language outcome following newborn screening was not demonstrable in the setting of this study.

School-aged children with moderately severe and severe hearing loss performed better in several domains than their peers with profound hearing loss who received cochlear implants between age 2 and 5 years. Further research is required to evaluate the benefits of hearing aids and cochlear implants in children with hearing loss who are diagnosed and receive intervention within the first year of life.

SUMMARYPurpose: This study investigated quality of life (QOL) in young adults who had undergone epilepsy surgery before the age of 16 years. The contribution to QOL of seizure status in the prior year, sex, number of antiepileptic drugs, and mood were evaluated. Methods: Sixty-nine young adults who had undergone surgery were subdivided into those who were seizure-free in the past year (n = 38) and those who had seizures (n = 31) in that time. A nonsurgical comparison group of young adults (n = 29) with childhood-onset medically intractable epilepsy was also studied. All groups completed measures of QOL and mood.Key Findings: After accounting for mood, sex, and number of antiepileptic drugs, the seizure-free group reported better cognitive and physical function and overall QOL, experienced less seizure worry, and had better self-perception. Mood was the most consistently predictive covariate, and was independently predictive of many aspects of QOL. Significance: Seizure freedom associated with surgery in childhood is associated with improved QOL in certain domains. Findings highlight the importance of mood in determining self-perception of QOL.