RESUMO -Objetivo:Comparar o desempenho em teste de avaliação do processamento auditivo (PA) num grupo de crianças e adolescentes com transtorno do déficit de atenção e hiperatividade (TDAH) pré e pós-metilfenidato. Método: Foram aplicados testes comportamentais padronizados de avaliação do PA em 29 indivíduos com TDAH na faixa etária de 7 a 15 anos, de ambos os sexos. Utilizou-se um grupo de comparação de 29 indivíduos sem déficit de atenção, com e sem transtornos de aprendizado. Resultados: O grupo com TDAH apresentou desempenho nos testes de PA semelhante ao grupo controle sem transtornos do aprendizado sendo seus resultados ainda melhores na ocasião pós-medicação. O grupo sem déficit de atenção e com problemas de aprendizagem apresentou o pior desempenho nos testes de PA e o grupo sem déficit de atenção e sem problemas de aprendizagem foi o que apresentou o melhor desempenho. Conclusão: O teste de PA não permitiu diferenciar portadores de TDAH de controles pareados; o metilfenidato se associou a melhora do desempenho nos testes de PA nos portadores de TDAH.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: percepção auditiva, atenção, transtorno do déficit de atenção, TDAH. Effects of methylphenidate in auditory processing evaluation of children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorderABSTRACT -Purpose: To compare the performance of a group of children and adolescents diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pre and post-methylphenidate use in a behavioral auditory processing test battery (AP). Method: Twenty-nine subjects, male and female, ranging from 7 to 15 years old have undergone different behavioral auditory processing tests. A control group composed of 29 subjects with and without learning disabilities was also evaluated. Results: The group with ADHD had a performance similar to the control group without learning disabilities which improved after medication. The group with learning disabilities and without ADHD had the worst performance in tests while the group without learning disabilities and without ADHD exhibited the best ones. Conclusion: The AP battery was unable to distinguish ADHD patients from paired controls; the use of methylphenidate improved the performance on AP tests of ADHD group in the post-medication evaluation.KEY WORDS: auditory perception attention, attention-deficit disorder, ADHD.O transtorno do déficit de atenção/hiperatividade (TDAH) é caracterizado por dificuldades de modulação da atenção e/ou hiperatividade/impulsividade. É um transtorno muito comum na infância (5,8% das crianças, aproximadamente, em nosso meio, utilizando os critérios do sistema Diagnostic and Statistical Manual -DSM-IV, da Associação Americana de Psiquiatria 1 ), comprometendo o desempenho escolar, dificultando as relações interpessoais e provocando baixa auto-estima. O diagnóstico de TDAH é realizado com informações colhidas junto aos pais e professores e também por meio de observação clínica da criança. Os sintomas devem estar presentes por, pelo menos, seis meses, comprometer o funcionamento aca...

This study was a longitudinal assessment of mercury exposure in schoolchildren in an urban area of the Brazilian Amazon. The study population consisted of 90 children whose exposure levels were assessed by testing mercury levels in the umbilical cord blood and mothers' blood samples in 2000-2001, and in the children's hair and blood samples. The study also used a questionnaire on demographic and socioeconomic data, fish consumption, and self-reported disease history. Mean mercury level in hair in 2010 was approximately 1µg/g, ranging up to 8.22µg/g, similar to 2004 and 2006. These figures can be explained by low fish consumption. Mean blood mercury levels at birth exceeded 10µg/L, ranging up to nearly 60µg/L, which indicates mercury transfer across the placenta. There was a significant increase in blood mercury from 2004 to 2006 (p < 0.001), suggesting exposure through air pollution. The main exposure to mercury was during pregnancy.

The children had hearing thresholds within normal limits and there was no significant difference between the hearing thresholds of children exposed and not exposed prenatally to mercury.

Objective: to assess the central auditory processing of children exposed to mercury during the prenatal period. Design/Study sample: this study evaluated 90 children age eight to ten years, of both genders divided into two groups according to the levels of mercury exposure during the prenatal period: the study group (SG) was composed of children who had total mercury levels in umbilical cord blood samples equal or higher than 8µg/L, and the control group (CG) of children who had Mercury levels lower than 8µg/L. The procedures included a questionnaire, tonal threshold audiometry, word recognition audiometry, tests that assess auditory processing skills; and analysis of the total levels of mercury in umbilical cord blood samples collected at birth. Result: The SG presented mean total mercury in umbilical cord blood of 19.36µg/L and the CG had mean of 4.78µg/L. Regarding the tests that assess central auditory processing, the SG showed worse performance than the CG, and there was a statistically significant difference observed in the Staggered Spondaic Word Test. Conclusion: Children presented disorders in the tests that assess central auditory processing, indicating a possible effect of prenatal exposure to mercury in the central auditory system.

Values are a central dimension of human social life. As conceptualized in Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values, they are core to a person’s self-concept and drive individual actions towards both personal development and social transformation. Cross-cultural research with adults reveals a consensus regarding values’ structure and priorities. Research with young populations is still very recent, but has already provided relevant theoretical and empirical insights. In this systematic review, we have aimed to collect and analyse studies on the development of basic human values in childhood and early adolescence that published from 2008 to 2021. A systematic search of the literature was undertaken using three electronic databases (PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus). Reviewers independently conducted the screening procedures to identify all papers focusing on basic human values in childhood and early adolescence (5 to 14 years-old), according to a set of previously defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The articles were submitted to a standardised quality appraisal assessment tool to determine their methodological soundness. The retrieved data was extracted and summarised using a narrative synthesis approach that reports studies’ characteristics, socio-demographic variables, evidence on value structure, value preferences, factors associated with values and measures used to assess values in children and adolescents. A total of 44 papers were included in this review. The evidence provides extensive support to Schwartz's theoretical model. Moreover, several factors concerning predictors, moderators, mediators, correlates and outcomes of values were identified, and a total of 6 different instruments that allow measuring values at an early age are described.

Background Speech recognition in noisy environments is a challenge for both cochlear implant (CI) users and device manufacturers. CI manufacturers have been investing in technological innovations for processors and researching strategies to improve signal processing and signal design for better aesthetic acceptance and everyday use. Purpose This study aimed to compare speech recognition in CI users using off-the-ear (OTE) and behind-the-ear (BTE) processors. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted with 51 CI recipients, all users of the BTE Nucleus 5 (CP810) sound processor. Speech perception performances were compared in quiet and noisy conditions using the BTE sound processor Nucleus 5 (N5) and OTE sound processor Kanso. Each participant was tested with the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the hearing in noise test using each sound processor in a randomized order. Three test conditions were analyzed with both sound processors: (i) speech level fixed at 65 decibel sound pressure level in a quiet, (ii) speech and noise at fixed levels, and (iii) adaptive speech levels with a fixed noise level. To determine the relative performance of OTE with respect to BTE, paired comparison analyses were performed. Results The paired t-tests showed no significant difference between the N5 and Kanso in quiet conditions. In all noise conditions, the performance of the OTE (Kanso) sound processor was superior to that of the BTE (N5), regardless of the order in which they were used. With the speech and noise at fixed levels, a significant mean 8.1 percentage point difference was seen between Kanso (78.10%) and N5 (70.7%) in the sentence scores. Conclusion CI users had a lower signal-to-noise ratio and a higher percentage of sentence recognition with the OTE processor than with the BTE processor.