ArticleJournal of neurodevelopmental disorders2021
White matter microstructure associations with episodic memory in adults with Down syndrome: a tract-based spatial statistics study.
Article in Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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16 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Connection between attention, executive function, episodic memory, and adaptive functioning in young adults with Down syndrome.International journal of developmental disabilities · 2026Article
- Distinct brain regions are affected by neurodevelopmental or pre-dementia changes in Down syndrome.Brain communications · 2026Article
- Development of Molecular Neuropathology in Down Syndrome across the Lifespan.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Article
- Longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging correlates with amyloid burden in Down syndrome.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Proteomic analysis of Down syndrome cerebrospinal fluid compared to late-onset and autosomal dominant Alzheimer´s disease.Nature communications · 2025Article
- White matter trajectories in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease: Insights from diffusion tensor-based morphometry.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Enduring differential patterns of neuronal loss and myelination along 6-month pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone therapy in individuals with Down syndrome.Brain communications · 2025Article
- The Global Deterioration Scale for Down Syndrome Population (GDS-DS): A Rating Scale to Assess the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Neural correlates of episodic memory in adults with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2022Article
- Support vector machine learning and diffusion-derived structural networks predict amyloid quantity and cognition in adults with Down's syndrome.Neurobiology of aging · 2022Article
- Cognitive outcome measures for tracking Alzheimer's disease in Down syndrome.International review of research in developmental disabilities · 2022Article
- Physical activity, memory function, and hippocampal volume in adults with Down syndrome.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2022Article
- Structural Connectivity in Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's Disease.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Review
- Physical activity and cognitive and imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in down syndrome.Neurobiology of aging · 2021Article
- Sleep and White Matter in Adults with Down Syndrome.Brain sciences · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundNearly all persons with Down syndrome will show pathology of Alzheimer's disease in their 40s. There is a critical need for studies to identify early biomarkers of these various pathological changes of Alzheimer's disease in the Down syndrome population and understand the relationship of these biomarkers to cognitive symptoms in order to inform clinical trials. Although Alzheimer's disease is often considered a disease of gray matter, white matter degeneration has been documented during the preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease. The current study examined the association between diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures of white matter microstructure and episodic memory performance in 52 adults with Down syndrome.
methodsSeventy (N = 70) participants (M = 40.13, SD = 7.77 years) received baseline scans as part of the Neurodegeneration in Aging Down Syndrome (NiAD) study at two imaging facilities (36 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison [UW-Madison] and 34 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center [UPMC]). All participants had genetically confirmed trisomy 21. Fifty-two (N = 52) participants remained after QC. The DTI measures, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), were calculated for each participant. A combined measure of episodic memory was generated by summing the z-scores of (1) Free and Cued Recall test and (2) Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test for Children Picture Recognition. The DTI data were projected onto a population-derived FA skeleton and tract-based spatial statistics analysis was conducted using the FSL tool PALM to calculate Pearson's r values between FA and MD with episodic memory.
resultsA positive correlation of episodic memory with FA and a negative correlation of episodic memory and MD in the major association white matter tracts were observed. Results were significant (p < 0.05) after correction for chronological age, imaging site, and premorbid cognitive ability.
conclusionThese findings suggest that white matter degeneration may be implicated in early episodic memory declines prior to the onset of dementia in adults with Down syndrome. Further, our findings suggest a coupling of episodic memory and white matter microstructure independent of chronological age.
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