E-Mail This work has investigated the long-term consequences of stress experienced at this critical period of life in rodents, in collaboration with the Behavioural Genetics laboratory at the Brain and Mind Institute of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland), led by the Spanish researcher Carmen Sandi. The study also shows that it is the capacity of recovery of corticosterone basal levels -the equivalent of cortisol in humans- released in response to repeated stress in adolescence, and not the amount of this hormone released, that predicts the degree of learning impairment that will be experienced in adulthood. "Testing spatial learning in rats is a way of assessing cognitive, memory and learning skills in the laboratory" explains Dr. Márquez. This learning goes beyond the academic knowledge and extends to all facets of daily life.