Left is for language? Evidence for reduced cerebral lateralization in adolescents with Down syndrome.
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1
Radboud University, Behavioural Science Institute, Netherlands
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2
Macquarie University, Department of Cognitive Science, Australia
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3
University of Oxford, Department of Experimental Psychology, United Kingdom
Ever since reports by Broca and Wernicke, the left hemisphere has been associated with language function. Individuals with Down syndrome show disproportionate difficulties with language relative to their non-verbal ability and indirect evidence for reduced cerebral lateralisation in this group has been reported (e.g., weaker hand preference and weaker right-ear advantage on dichotic listening tasks).
Here we report the results of a study with 25 adolescents with Down syndrome and two control groups: one matched on chronological age, and another, younger, control group matched on language ability, where we directly measured task induced changes in blood flow velocity to the left and right hemisphere. We used functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound to assess cerebral lateralisation during both a language task and a visuospatial memory task allowing us to address the following questions: 1) Is cerebral lateralisation for language function reduced in people with Down syndrome, and if yes, 2) Is reduced cerebral lateralisation in this group specific to language? Finally, participants also completed several handedness tasks and associations between handedness and lateralisation for language in adolescents with Down syndrome, or lack thereof, will be discussed.
At the group level, adolescents with Down syndrome showed less lateralisation to the left hemisphere on the language task, compared to both control groups. Within the group of adolescents with Down syndrome, neither amount, nor direction of lateralisation for language was associated with language ability or hand preference. Reduced lateralisation in this group was not specific to language, as reduced lateralisation to the right hemisphere was observed for visuospatial memory.
Keywords:
lateralization,
Doppler ultrasound,
Down Syndrome,
Language,
visuospatial memory
Conference:
ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Sydney, Australia, 2 Dec - 4 Dec, 2015.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Psychophysiology
Citation:
Groen
MA,
Badcock
NA and
Bishop
DV
(2015). Left is for language? Evidence for reduced cerebral lateralization in adolescents with Down syndrome..
Conference Abstract:
ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.219.00052
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Received:
25 Oct 2015;
Published Online:
30 Nov 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Margriet A Groen, Radboud University, Behavioural Science Institute, Nijmegen, Netherlands, m.groen@lancaster.ac.uk