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Praxis skills in young children with Down syndrome, other developmental disabilities, and typically developing children.

ABSTRACT: This study explored whether young children with Down syndrome show praxis deficits that impact activities of daily living, and whether these deficits are specific to Down syndrome. We compared the performance of young children with Down syndrome, a mental age-matched group of children with developmental disabilities of mixed or unknown etiologies, and a group of typically developing infants and toddlers on praxis tasks and overall adaptive behavior (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales). Children with Down syndrome showed poorer overall motor functioning than the developmental disabilities comparison group as measured by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, F(2, 47) = 5.24, p < .01 (using one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA]). A one-way multivariate analysis of variance also showed that children with Down syndrome performed significantly worse overall than the developmental disabilities comparison group on a battery of praxis tasks, F(7, 18) = 2.95, p < .05, and a series of object retrieval tasks, F(7, 18) = 2.95, p < .05, suggesting a deficit in praxis that is specific to Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome elicited significantly more help than both comparison groups during object retrieval trials, F(2, 48) = 4.94, p < .01 (using one-way ANOVA). When chronological age was partialled out, a strong relationship was observed between praxis and adaptive functioning in Down syndrome, r(8) = .69, p < .05. These findings suggest that young children with Down syndrome may need targeted interventions that focus on both praxis skills and motivational orientation.

SUBMITTER: Fidler DJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4512666 | biostudies-other | 2005 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:The emergence of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analysis, which examines temporal correlations of low-frequency (<0.1 Hz) blood oxygen level-dependent signal fluctuations between brain regions, has dramatically improved our understanding of the functional architecture of the typically developing (TD) human brain. This study examined rsFC in Down syndrome (DS) compared with another neurodevelopmental disorder, Williams syndrome (WS), and TD. Ten subjects with DS, 18 subjects with WS, and 40 subjects with TD each participated in a 3-Tesla MRI scan. We tested for group differences (DS vs. TD, DS vs. WS, and WS vs. TD) in between- and within-network rsFC connectivity for seven functional networks. For the DS group, we also examined associations between rsFC and other cognitive and genetic risk factors. In DS compared with TD, we observed higher levels of between-network connectivity in 6 out 21 network pairs but no differences in within-network connectivity. Participants with WS showed lower levels of within-network connectivity and no significant differences in between-network connectivity relative to DS. Finally, our comparison between WS and TD controls revealed lower within-network connectivity in multiple networks and higher between-network connectivity in one network pair relative to TD controls. While preliminary due to modest sample sizes, our findings suggest a global difference in between-network connectivity in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders compared with controls and that such a difference is exacerbated across many brain regions in DS. However, this alteration in DS does not appear to extend to within-network connections, and therefore, the altered between-network connectivity must be interpreted within the framework of an intact intra-network pattern of activity. In contrast, WS shows markedly lower levels of within-network connectivity in the default mode network and somatomotor network relative to controls. These findings warrant further investigation using a task-based procedure that may help disentangle the relationship between brain function and cognitive performance across the spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders.

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Praxis skills in young children with Down syndrome, other developmental disabilities, and typically developing children.

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