TY - JOUR
T1 - Brain volumes, cognitive, and adaptive skills in school-age children with Down syndrome
AU - for the IBIS Network
AU - Grzadzinski, Rebecca
AU - Mata, Kattia
AU - Bhatt, Ambika S.
AU - Jatkar, Alapika
AU - Garic, Dea
AU - Shen, Mark D.
AU - Girault, Jessica B.
AU - St. John, Tanya
AU - Pandey, Juhi
AU - Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie
AU - Estes, Annette
AU - Shen, Audrey M.
AU - Dager, Stephen
AU - Schultz, Robert
AU - Botteron, Kelly
AU - Marrus, Natasha
AU - Styner, Martin
AU - Evans, Alan
AU - Kim, Sun Hyung
AU - McKinstry, Robert
AU - Gerig, Guido
AU - Piven, Joseph
AU - Hazlett, Heather
AU - Fallin, D.
AU - Volk, H.
AU - Truong, K.
AU - Das, S.
AU - MacIntyre, L.
AU - Fonov, V.
AU - Collins, D. L.
AU - Pruett, J.
AU - Wolff, J.
AU - Elison, J.
AU - Constantino, J.
AU - Shaw, D.
AU - Chappell, C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - Background: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common congenital neurodevelopmental disorder, present in about 1 in every 700 live births. Despite its prevalence, literature exploring the neurobiology underlying DS and how this neurobiology is related to behavior is limited. This study fills this gap by examining cortical volumes and behavioral correlates in school-age children with DS. Methods: School-age children (mean = 9.7 years ± 1.1) underwent comprehensive assessments, including cognitive and adaptive assessments, as well as an MRI scan without the use of sedation. Children with DS (n = 35) were compared to available samples of typically developing (TD; n = 80) and ASD children (n = 29). ANOVAs were conducted to compare groups on cognitive and adaptive assessments. ANCOVAs (covarying for age, sex, and total cerebral volume; TCV) compared cortical brain volumes between groups. Correlations between behavioral metrics and cortical and cerebellar volumes (separately for gray (GM) and white matter (WM)) were conducted separately by group. Results: As expected, children with DS had significantly lower cognitive skills compared to ASD and TD children. Daily Living adaptive skills were comparable between ASD children and children with DS, and both groups scored lower than TD children. Children with DS exhibited a smaller TCV compared to ASD and TD children. Additionally, when controlling for TCV, age, and sex, children with DS had significantly smaller total GM and tissue volumes. Cerebellum volumes were significantly correlated with Daily Living adaptive behaviors in the DS group only. Conclusions: Despite children with DS exhibiting lower cognitive skills and smaller brain volume overall than children with ASD, their deficits in Socialization and Daily Living adaptive skills are comparable. Differences in lobar volumes (e.g., Right Frontal GM/WM, Left Frontal WM, and Left and Right Temporal WM) were observed above and beyond overall differences in total volume. The correlation between cerebellum volumes and Daily Living adaptive behaviors in the DS group provides a novel area to explore in future research.
AB - Background: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common congenital neurodevelopmental disorder, present in about 1 in every 700 live births. Despite its prevalence, literature exploring the neurobiology underlying DS and how this neurobiology is related to behavior is limited. This study fills this gap by examining cortical volumes and behavioral correlates in school-age children with DS. Methods: School-age children (mean = 9.7 years ± 1.1) underwent comprehensive assessments, including cognitive and adaptive assessments, as well as an MRI scan without the use of sedation. Children with DS (n = 35) were compared to available samples of typically developing (TD; n = 80) and ASD children (n = 29). ANOVAs were conducted to compare groups on cognitive and adaptive assessments. ANCOVAs (covarying for age, sex, and total cerebral volume; TCV) compared cortical brain volumes between groups. Correlations between behavioral metrics and cortical and cerebellar volumes (separately for gray (GM) and white matter (WM)) were conducted separately by group. Results: As expected, children with DS had significantly lower cognitive skills compared to ASD and TD children. Daily Living adaptive skills were comparable between ASD children and children with DS, and both groups scored lower than TD children. Children with DS exhibited a smaller TCV compared to ASD and TD children. Additionally, when controlling for TCV, age, and sex, children with DS had significantly smaller total GM and tissue volumes. Cerebellum volumes were significantly correlated with Daily Living adaptive behaviors in the DS group only. Conclusions: Despite children with DS exhibiting lower cognitive skills and smaller brain volume overall than children with ASD, their deficits in Socialization and Daily Living adaptive skills are comparable. Differences in lobar volumes (e.g., Right Frontal GM/WM, Left Frontal WM, and Left and Right Temporal WM) were observed above and beyond overall differences in total volume. The correlation between cerebellum volumes and Daily Living adaptive behaviors in the DS group provides a novel area to explore in future research.
KW - Adaptive
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - Brain volumes
KW - Cognitive
KW - Cortical volumes
KW - Down syndrome
KW - Intellectual disability
KW - MRI
KW - Neurobehavioral/behavioral profiles
KW - Neurodevelopmental disorder
KW - Neuroimaging
KW - School-age children
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85212666793&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s11689-024-09581-6
DO - 10.1186/s11689-024-09581-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 39701965
AN - SCOPUS:85212666793
SN - 1866-1947
VL - 16
JO - Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders
JF - Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders
IS - 1
M1 - 70
ER -