The paper presents a description of the methodological approach for assessing the formation of the emotional sphere of children aged 5-16 years with typical and atypical development. The purpose of the Child's Emotional Development Method (CEDM) is to assess the emotional development of the children by determining the ability to express their own emotions, emotions adequacy, and recognition of the emotional states of others. The approach is based on adapted methods and scales, assessment criteria and methodological approaches tested in a number of studies, depending on the age of the children, their developmental characteristics, language and cultural characteristics of the country of residence of the child. The approach includes two blocks - information about the development of the child obtaining from parents / legal representatives; methods for children testing, including interview methods, psychological tests, play situations. The assessment uses a score on the Likert scale. A pilot approbation of the methodological approach was carried out on 30 children aged 8-16 years - typically developing (TD), with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and Down syndrome (DS). The results of the study formed the basis for the creation of the Scale of Emotional Sphere Development of Children and Adolescents.

The purpose of the research was to study the peculiarities of the reflection of emotional states “neutral (calm state)–sadness–joy–anger–fear” in the speech and facial expressions of 7–8 years old children and to identify differences in the expression of emotions by boys and girls of this age. The work was carried out as part of the study of the emotional sphere of children with typical and atypical development using the CEDM method for assessing the emotional development of children. 14 children (7 boys, 7 girls)—primary school students—took part in the study. The ability of children to express emotions in the characteristics of voice and facial expressions and to recognize emotions was analyzed. For this purpose, speech recording and video recording of children’s facial expressions and behavior, instrumental and perceptual analysis of emotional speech, and automatic analysis of facial expression were carried out. The children’s heart rate was recorded, and the leading hemisphere by speech was determined using a dichotic listening. The features of the reflection of the emotional states of boys and girls in the characteristics of speech are revealed. The specificity of reflecting the emotional states of children in facial expression is described. The connections between the psychophysiological indicators of children and their reflection of emotional states in their voice and facial expressions were determined.

Animals with knockout of the dopamine transporter gene (DAT-KO) display hyperdopaminergic phenotypes, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity-like behaviors. A previous behavioral analysis of heterozygous rats with partial knockout (DAT-HET) suggested increased susceptibility to addictive behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate elements of addictive behaviors and the mechanisms underlying dopamine release in DAT-HET rats. Offspring derived from DAT-knockout breeding underwent genotyping and behavioral assessment using the marble burying test, a manipulative behavior test using nesting material, and a modified version of the Iowa Gambling Task. Feeding behavior was studied using a binge-eating model. Reinforcing properties were investigated using intracranial self-stimulation under fixed-ratio (FR) and variable-ratio (VR) schedules. Dopamine (DA) release and clearance dynamics were assessed using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). DAT-HET rats exhibited moderate hyperactivity, increased impulsive choice, and compulsive responses. Male DAT-HET rats also showed increased compulsive overeating compared with wild-type (WT) rats of both sexes and female DAT-HET rats. In addition, DAT-HET rats demonstrated a preference for VR self-stimulation, which resembles risk- and thrill-seeking behavior in humans. In DAT-KO rats, impaired DA clearance resulted from complete loss of dopamine transporter function. In DAT-HET rats, increased DA release amplitude was observed, and dopamine persisted longer in the extracellular space than in WT rats. These findings underscore the importance of the DAT-HET model for studying impulsivity, compulsivity, and factors underlying the predisposition to addictive behavior.