[Asperger's syndrome, little teachers: special skills]. / Síndrome de Asperger, los pequeños profesores: habilidades especiales.

INTRODUCTION: Asperger's syndrome (AS) is characterised by its effects on reciprocal social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, difficulty in accepting changes, inflexible thinking and reduced fields of interest, but also by the presentation of special skills. DEVELOPMENT: On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Hans Asperger, we briefly review the history of this researcher and offer a short description of the clinical features of the condition, including social interaction, communication, limited concerns and interests, routines and inflexibility, which are key points when it comes to reaching a diagnosis. Later, we also focus on Savant syndrome, which is a very common subgroup within AS and which is characterised by the patient's outstanding ability is certain special skills, such as hypermnesia, hyperlexia and hypercalculia, in mental feats concerning the perpetual calendar and in several branches of the arts, such as drawing, painting, sculpture and music. We discuss several famous cases of savants and explain some of the theories about its pathophysiology. CONCLUSIONS: Having special skills is a distinguishing mark of AS and identifying and facilitating them would provide us with a potential tool with which to accomplish suitable job opportunities.

[Neuropsychological disorders in teenagers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]. / Trastornos neuropsicológicos de los adolescentes afectos de trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad.

AIMS: The aim of this study is to report on the neuropsychological aspects of teenage patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), namely disorders affecting attention, memory, the executive functions and language. We also discuss how to perform neuropsychological and functional evaluation of the systems involved in attention, by means of haemodynamic (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and neurophysiological (magnetoencephalography) techniques. The comorbidities that most frequently occur in teenage patients with ADHD are also described. DEVELOPMENT: The fundamental symptoms, that is to say, inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness, continue to be present in the teenager with ADHD, although with mild variations, and are probably dependent on each individual's own genetic load. The disorders most commonly associated with ADHD are oppositional defiant disorder (33%), conduct disorders (25%), anxiety (25%), learning disabilities (22%) and depression (22%). CONCLUSIONS: During adolescence, patients with ADHD usually suffer disorders that are secondary to their inability to process information efficiently due to the inadequate development of the executive functions. The lack of inhibitory control and a poor capacity to learn from their own mistakes facilitate the appearance of comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders.