Across species there is evidence that the quality of the early social environment can have a profound impact on neurobiology and behavior. In the present study we explore the effect of communal rearing conditions (three dams with three litters per cage) during the postnatal period on offspring (F1) and grand-offspring (F2) anxiety-like and maternal behavior in Balb/c mice. Females rearing pups in communal nests exhibited increased levels of postpartum maternal care and communal rearing was found to abolish sex-differences in weaning weights. In adulthood, communally reared offspring were observed to display reduced anxiety-like behavior when placed in a novel environment. When rearing their own offspring under standard conditions, communally reared females demonstrated higher levels of motivation to retrieve pups, built higher quality nests, and exhibited higher levels of postpartum care compared to standard reared females. When exposed to an intruder male, communally reared females were more subordinate and less aggressive. F2 offspring of communally reared females were observed to engage in reduced anxiety-like behavior, have larger litter sizes and an increased frequency of nursing on PND 1. Analysis of neuropeptide receptor levels suggest that a communal rearing environment may exert sustained effects on behavior through modification of oxytocin and vasopressin (V1a) receptor densities. Though Balb-C mice are often considered “socially-incompetent” and high in anxiety-like behavior, our findings suggest that through enrichment of the postnatal environment, these behavioral and neuroendocrine deficits may be attenuated both within and across generations.

Art observation training for first-year medical students can improve clinical ophthalmology observational skills. Principles from the field of visual arts, which is reputed to excel in teaching observation and descriptive abilities, can be successfully applied to medical training. Further studies can examine the impact of such training on clinical care.

Objective: To determine whether earlier treatment of high-risk, prethreshold retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) improves retinal structural outcome at 2 years of age. Methods: Infants with bilateral high-risk prethreshold ROP had one eye randomly assigned to treatment with peripheral retinal ablation. The fellow eye was managed conventionally, and either treated at threshold ROP or observed if threshold was never reached. In patients with asymmetrical disease, the highrisk, prethreshold eye was randomised to earlier treatment or to conventional management. At 2 years of age, children were examined comprehensively by certified ophthalmologists to determine structural outcomes for their eyes. For the purposes of this study, an unfavourable structural outcome was defined as (1) a posterior retinal fold involving the macula, (2) a retinal detachment involving the macula or (3) retrolental tissue or ''mass'' obscuring the view of the posterior pole. Results of the 2-year examination were compared with those from the 9 months examination. Results: Data were available on 339 of 374 (90.6%) surviving children. Unfavourable structural outcomes were reduced from 15.4% in conventionally managed eyes to 9.1% in earlier-treated eyes (p = 0.002) at 2 years of age. Ophthalmic side effects (excluding retinal structure) from the ROP or its treatment were similar in the earlier-treated eyes and the conventionally managed eyes. Conclusion:The benefit of earlier treatment of high-risk prethreshold ROP on retinal structure endures to 2 years of age, and is not counterbalanced by any known side effect caused by earlier intervention. Earlier treatment improves the chance for long-term favourable retinal structural outcome in eyes with high-risk prethreshold ROP. Long-term follow-up is planned to determine structural and functional outcomes at 6 years of age.T he Early Treatment for Retinopathy Of Prematurity (ETROP) Study showed that retinal ablation for highrisk prethreshold retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) improved structural and functional outcomes, compared with conventional management, when infants were examined at 9 months' corrected age. 1 The study randomised infants who had both prethreshold disease and a risk for unfavourable structural outcome >15%. 2However, eyes of infants may change over time.3 Myopia, strabismus and late retinal detachments all increase in frequency in the months and years after successful treatment of ROP.3 4 In the Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity (CRYO-ROP) Study, a wide distribution of optotype acuities developed after successful treatment, with 75% showing acuities worse than 20/40 when children reached 10 and 15 years of age.3 5 Time will tell whether the ETROP cohort will show the same distribution of functional outcomes as occurred in the CRYO-ROP Study.In the CRYO-ROP Study, only a few infants had threshold disease in zone I, 6 but in the ETROP Study, 40% of all randomised children had zone I disease. This group of children may be particularly vulnerable to complications of myopia, stra...