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Learning and memory as a function of age in Down syndrome: a study using animal-based tasks
Linda Nelson1, Julene K Johnson, Morris Freedman
1Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, Medical Center, 101 City Drive, Route 81, Building 53, Room 225, Orange, CA 92868, USA. ldnelson@uci.edu
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry
|March 30, 2005
Summary
Cognitive decline in adults with Down syndrome (DS) can be challenging to detect. Non-language-based tests reveal that while age impacts memory, intellectual ability and dementia scores are stronger predictors of cognitive performance in DS.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Genetics
Background:
- Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer disease (AD) after age 40.
- Detecting AD in DS is complicated by intellectual disability and language impairments.
- Cognitive tests used in animal models, which do not rely on language, offer a potential solution for assessing cognitive changes in DS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To adapt and apply experimental paradigms from animal models to measure cognitive function in adults with DS.
- To investigate the relationship between age and cognitive performance in DS.
- To identify which clinical variables best predict cognitive performance in adults with DS.
Main Methods:
- Twenty adults with DS (ages 22-58) participated.
- Cognitive function was assessed using object discrimination, reversal learning, and spatial and object memory tasks.
- Tasks were administered using a modified Wisconsin General Testing Apparatus with penny rewards.
- Regression analysis was used to evaluate age, Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), Dementia Questionnaire for Persons with Mental Retardation (DMR) scores, and gender as predictors.
Main Results:
- Age showed a significant correlation with object memory performance and marginal correlations with reversal learning and spatial memory.
- Regression analysis indicated that DMR scores were the strongest predictors of reversal learning errors.
- FSIQ was the best predictor of performance on object memory tasks.
Conclusions:
- While age is a factor in cognitive performance in adults with DS, other clinical variables like intellectual ability and dementia-specific questionnaire scores are more significant predictors.
- These findings suggest potential prefrontal and medial temporal lobe dysfunction associated with AD pathology in DS.
- Non-language-based cognitive assessments are valuable for understanding cognitive changes in individuals with DS, particularly in the context of AD risk.
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