Using Functional near infrared spectroscopy to investigate ageing and cognitive decline in Down syndrome: A Feasibility Study

Speaker: Ros Hithersay, Division of Psychiatry

Abstract: People with Down syndrome (DS) show an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to the general population. The time course of AD in DS may also differ from that seen in the general population. Personality changes and decline in executive functioning (e.g. planning, inhibition, set-shifting) may occur before the characteristic memory problems more commonly associated with the disease.

However, assessing cognitive decline in this population can be challenging as most people with DS have some level of intellectual disability (ID). Neuroimaging can provide alternative ways of looking at brain function, without necessarily requiring verbal or motor responses from the individual. Yet there remains a paucity of neuroimaging research in this population, due in part to practical and ethical concerns of imaging vulnerable adults.