Functional magnetic resonance imaging of story listening in adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome: evidence for atypical neurodevelopment.
Young adults with Down syndrome use different and weaker brain areas for language, so therapy should target broader cognitive skills, not just speech.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers scanned the brains of 15 young adults with Down syndrome while they listened to stories.
They compared the scans to two groups: same-age peers and kids with the same mental age.
The team looked for which brain areas lit up and how strong the signals were.
What they found
The Down syndrome group had weaker brain signals in classic language areas.
Some language regions barely activated at all.
Instead, other unusual brain areas showed activity, suggesting the brain is using a different route to process language.
How this fits with other research
Martínez-Castilla et al. (2024) extends these findings by showing teens with Down syndrome also struggle with tiny sound differences in speech.
Myers et al. (2018) helps explain why: in babies with Down syndrome, early joint attention skills—not speech skills—predict later language.
H-Fournier et al. (2004) adds that sentence memory is shorter too, even when compared to kids with the same mental age.
Together, these studies paint a clear picture: language problems in Down syndrome start early, show up in brain scans, and affect both understanding and memory.
Why it matters
When you plan language therapy for clients with Down syndrome, don't assume typical brain areas are doing the work. Target broader cognitive skills like joint attention and memory first. Use shorter sentences and check understanding often. The brain is taking a different path, so your teaching path should adapt too.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Start your next session with a 2-minute joint attention warm-up before any language task.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have documented differences in neural activation during language processing in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) in comparison with typically developing individuals matched for chronological age. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare activation during language processing in young adults with DS to typically developing comparison groups matched for chronological age or mental age. We hypothesised that the pattern of neural activation in the DS cohort would differ when compared with both typically developing cohorts. METHOD: Eleven persons with DS (mean chronological age = 18.3; developmental age range = 4-6 years) and two groups of typically developing individuals matched for chronological (n = 13; mean age = 18.3 years) and developmental (mental) age (n = 12; chronological age range = 4-6 years) completed fMRI scanning during a passive story listening paradigm. Random effects group comparisons were conducted on individual maps of the contrast between activation (story listening) and rest (tone presentation) conditions. RESULTS: Robust activation was seen in typically developing groups in regions associated with processing auditory information, including bilateral superior and middle temporal lobe gyri. In contrast, the DS cohort demonstrated atypical spatial distribution of activation in midline frontal and posterior cingulate regions when compared with both typically developing control groups. Random effects group analyses documented reduced magnitude of activation in the DS cohort when compared with both control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Activation in the DS group differed significantly in magnitude and spatial extent when compared with chronological and mental age-matched typically developing control groups during a story listening task. Results provide additional support for an atypical pattern of functional organisation for language processing in this population.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2014 · doi:10.1111/jir.12089