Movement Preparation and the Costs and Benefits Associated with Advance Information for Adults with Down Syndrome

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Le Clair ◽  
Digby Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Hemispheric Lateralization ◽  
Manual Aiming ◽  
Aiming Movements ◽  
Verbal Language ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Mental Handicaps ◽  
Advance Information ◽  
Aiming Movement ◽  
Valid Information

This study examined the extent to which individuals with Down syndrome benefit from visual and verbal advance information about a manual aiming movement. Adults with Down syndrome as well as control subjects with and without mental handicaps performed 10.5-cm manual aiming movements with their preferred hand. On each trial subjects were cued about the specific movement either visually or verbally. On different trial blocks, the cue provided either 50% or 80% certainty. Nonhandicapped control subjects initiated and completed their manual aiming movements more quickly than subjects with mental handicaps. As well, individuals with Down syndrome were found to be slower and more variable in reaction time than participants in the other mentally handicapped group when valid information was provided verbally but not when the cue was provided visually. These results are consistent with the proposal that atypical hemispheric lateralization for speech perception associated with Down syndrome disrupts communication between functional systems responsible for processing of verbal language and organizing movement (Elliott & Weeks, 1993b).

Crossmodal Inhibition of Return in Adults with and Without Down Syndrome

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Glazebrook ◽  
Digby Elliott ◽  
James Lyons ◽  
Luc Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Inhibition Of Return ◽  
Verbal Stimulus ◽  
Previous Trial ◽  
Manual Aiming ◽  
Verbal Cues ◽  
Aiming Movements ◽  
Inhibitory Processes

This study investigated inhibition of return in persons with and without Down syndrome (DS) when visual or verbal cues were used to specify a target in a crossmodal paradigm. Individuals with DS and without DS performed manual aiming movements to a target located in right or left hemispace. The target was specified by an endogenous visual or verbal stimulus. Both groups were significantly slower when responding to the same target as the previous trial when the target was cued in a different modality. Although participants with DS initiated and executed their movements more slowly, they demonstrated a similar pattern of inhibition as people without DS, suggesting that inhibitory processes are functioning normally in persons with DS.

The Use of Vision in Manual Aiming by Young and Older Adults

1996 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Lyons ◽  
Digby Elliott ◽  
Laurie R. Swanson ◽  
Romeo Chua
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Movement Trajectory ◽  
Manual Aiming ◽  
Movement Initiation ◽  
Directed Movement ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Aiming Movements ◽  
Kinesthetic Feedback ◽  
Aiming Movement

This study was designed to examine the influence of age and the availability of vision on the performance and kinematic characteristics of discrete aiming movements. Twelve young adults (19–25 years old) and 12 healthy older adults (62–82 years old) performed 130-mm aiming movements to targets with diameters of 5, 10, and 20 mm. On half the trial blocks, visual feedback about the aiming movement was eliminated upon movement initiation. Surprisingly, older adults were both as fast and as accurate as young adults regardless of the vision or target condition. While the velocity profiles of young and older adults were also similar, older adults exhibited a greater number of deviations in acceleration in both the vision and no-vision situations. Since these deviations are thought to reflect adjustments to the movement trajectory, older adults may rely more on visual and kinesthetic feedback for the control of goal-directed movement.

The influence of advance information on the response complexity effect in manual aiming movements

2008 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Khan ◽  
Stuart Mourton ◽  
Eric Buckolz ◽  
Ian M. Franks
Keyword(s):  
Manual Aiming ◽  
Aiming Movements ◽  
Advance Information

scholarly journals Down Syndrome-Associated Diabetes Is Not Due To a Congenital Deficiency in β Cells

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra E. Butler ◽  
Wendy Sacks ◽  
Robert A. Rizza ◽  
Peter C. Butler
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Cell Area ◽  
Β Cells ◽  
Β Cell ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Congenital Deficiency ◽  
Nondiabetic Control

Abstract Aims/Hypothesis: We sought to establish whether the increased incidence of diabetes associated with Down syndrome was due to a congenital deficit in β cells. Methods: The pancreas was obtained at autopsy from nondiabetic subjects with Down syndrome (n = 29) and age-matched nondiabetic control subjects without Down syndrome (n = 28). The pancreas sections were evaluated for the fractional β-cell area. Results: No difference was found in the fractional β-cell area between the subjects with Down syndrome and the control subjects. Conclusions/Interpretations: The increased incidence and prevalence of diabetes in individuals with Down syndrome is not due to an underlying congenital deficiency of β cells.

Altered autonomic cardiac regulation in individuals with Down syndrome

2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (6) ◽  
pp. H2387-H2391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinando Iellamo ◽  
Alberto Galante ◽  
Jacopo M. Legramante ◽  
Maria Enrichetta Lippi ◽  
Claudia Condoluci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Congenital Heart Disease ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Congenital Heart ◽  
Sinus Node ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Cardiac Regulation ◽  
Autonomic Cardiac Regulation ◽  
And Control

We tested the hypothesis that individuals with Down syndrome, but without congenital heart disease, exhibit altered autonomic cardiac regulation. Ten subjects with Down syndrome (DS) and ten gender-and age-matched healthy control subjects were studied at rest and during active orthostatism, which induces reciprocal changes in sympathetic and parasympathetic traffic to the heart. Autoregressive power spectral analysis was used to investigate R-R interval variability. Baroreflex modulation of sinus node was assessed by the spontaneous baroreflex sequences method. No significant differences between DS and control subjects were observed in arterial blood pressure at rest or in response to standing. Also, R-R interval did not differ at rest. R-R interval decreased significantly less during standing in DS vs. control subjects. Low-frequency (LFNU) and high-frequency (HFNU) (both expressed in normalized units) components of R-R interval variability did not differ between DS and control subjects at rest. During standing, significant increase in LFNU and decrease in HFNU were observed in control subjects but not in DS subjects. Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) did not differ between DS and control subjects at rest and underwent significant decrease on going from supine to upright in both groups. However, BRS was greater in DS vs. control subjects during standing. These data indicate that subjects with DS exhibit reduced HR response to orthostatic stress associated with blunted sympathetic activation and vagal withdrawal and with a lesser reduction in BRS in response to active orthostatism. These findings suggest overall impairment in autonomic cardiac regulation in DS and may help to explain the chronotropic incompetence typically reported during exercise in subjects with DS without congenital heart disease.

Target Location and Visual Feedback as Variables Determining Accuracy of Aiming Movements

1983 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Sullivan ◽  
Robert W. Christina
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Aiming Movements ◽  
Movement Distance ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Aiming Movement ◽  
Male University Students

The accuracy of a long aiming movement was studied as a function of whether it was performed toward or away from the midline of the subject's body in the presence or absence of visual feedback. 30 right-handed, male university students (19—26 yr.) served as subjects. With movement distance and duration controlled, the mean percentage of error was 6 34% less for movements made toward the body's midline than for those performed away from the midline. The mean percentage of error was also 48% less in the presence of visual feedback than in its absence. However, contrary to our expectation, movements executed toward the body's midline were not appreciably less disrupted in the absence of visual feedback than movements performed away from the midline.

Visuospatial Attention and Motor Preparation in Individuals with Down Syndrome

2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elodie Lalo ◽  
Bettina Debû
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Target Localization ◽  
Advance Information ◽  
Advanced Knowledge ◽  
Visual Targets

The aim of this study was to assess the ability of young adults with and without Down syndrome (DS) with regard to attention orientation when detecting visual targets. The influence of advanced knowledge of target localization was examined when detection was (aiming task), or was not (detection task), followed by a movement toward the target. Participants were given advance information about the probability of target occurrence at expected locations. Results show that participants with DS benefit from attention orientation. However, they do not appear to use the same attentional strategies as participants without DS do when aiming is required. Analysis of the reaction times also revealed that participants with DS reacted faster in the aiming task rather than in the detection task.

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