Spatial exploration and navigation in Down syndrome and Williams syndrome

Yannick Courbois ¹, Mark Blades ², Kerry D Hudson ³

⁰Univ. Lille, ULR 4072 - PSITEC - Psychologie: Interactions Temps Émotions Cognition, Lille, France.

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior +

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July 4, 2024

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

People with intellectual disability (ID) show varied spatial navigation skills. Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS) groups performed differently in virtual environments, highlighting individual differences in navigation abilities.

Area Of Science

Cognitive Psychology
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Spatial Navigation

Background

Limited understanding of spatial exploration and navigation in individuals with intellectual disability (ID).
Need to investigate cross-syndrome differences and similarities in navigation abilities.

Purpose Of The Study

To compare spatial navigation and exploration behaviors in individuals with Down syndrome (DS), Williams syndrome (WS), and typically developing (TD) children.
To identify distinct behavioral profiles in spatial navigation using a transdiagnostic approach.

Main Methods

Cross-syndrome study involving individuals with DS, WS, and TD children (aged 5-11 years).
Participants explored virtual environments with two distinct goals: environmental learning (Experiment 1) and target location (Experiment 2).
Latent Profile Analysis used to identify transdiagnostic behavioral profiles.

Main Results

In environmental learning, DS and WS groups performed similarly, comparable to TD children with similar non-verbal abilities.
In target location tasks, the DS group showed weaker performance than the WS group and TD children.
Exploration patterns differed: DS showed weak, static exploration; WS showed atypical exploration with increased revisits.
Latent Profile Analysis revealed five profiles; only the most extreme (poor navigators) was specific to DS and WS, with other profiles showing mixed DS and WS representation.

Conclusions

Spatial navigation abilities vary significantly among individuals with intellectual disability.
Task demands (e.g., target location vs. general exploration) reveal differences between DS and WS.
A transdiagnostic, data-driven approach is valuable for understanding heterogeneity in ID and identifying navigation profiles.

Keywords:

Down syndrome Exploration Intellectual disability Navigation Spatial cognition Williams syndrome