Abstract
Potential Drug to Treat Down’s Syndrome
Researchers say they have identified a drug that boosts memory in those with Down’s syndrome. The medication memantine—which is currently used to treat Alzheimer’s disease—offered as much as a tenfold memory increase for those with Down’s syndrome. Before now, there had never been any positive results in attempts to improve cognitive abilities in persons with Down’s syndrome through medication. For this study, researchers conducted a 16-week trial involving 38 adolescents and young adults with Down’s syndrome. Half took memantine while the rest were given a placebo. Scientists then measured adaptive and cognitive function in the two groups. Although researchers found no major differences in most areas of functioning, those taking memantine exhibited significant improvement in so-called “verbal episodic memory.” This would include the ability to memorize a long list of words.—Boada, R., Hutaff-Lee, C., Schrader, A., Weitzenkamp, D., Benke, T. A., Goldson, E. J., & Costa, A. C. (2012). Antagonism of NMDA receptors as a potential treatment for Down syndrome: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Translational Psychiatry. Advance online publication.
Kinect Used to Detect Autism Early
A nursery was fitted with five Kinect sensors that were set to monitor a group of 3- to 5-year old children. Kinect is a motion sensing input device by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game console and Windows PCs. Based around a webcam-style add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console, it enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller. Each child was tracked by the colors they were wearing, and their movement patterns were fed into a bank of computers that would use an algorithm to recognize if they were being hyperactive or unusually still, which could indicate possible autism. The research team wants to eventually have the Kinect be able to cross-reference a child’s behavior with the Autism Observation Scale for Infants. The scale measures whether a child can follow an object in front of them along with mannerisms and posture that are early indicators of autism. The ultimate goal would be the creation of some sort of Kinect game that parents could play with their child that would serve as a test for signs of autism. If properly developed, a Kinect title could be an easily accessible household test that could put parents’ minds at ease about their child’s development, or inform them that they need to seek out help and further tests.—Firth, N. (2012). Kinect cameras watch for autism. NewScientist, p. 2863.
Social Deprivation Disrupts Brain Development
A study of Romanian orphans has shown that children who grow up in institutions instead of with families have major deficits in brain development. The findings underscore the importance of an enriched environment during infancy and childhood and may help explain the increased rates of depression and anxiety disorders known to exist among institutionalized children. The report comes from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, which has been following 136 Romanian orphans for 12 years, ever since the children were infants. The project is unique because it is the first to randomly assign children either to foster care or to the institutional care of orphanages. Such randomization—ethically possible because all the children would otherwise have remained in institutions—has allowed the scientists to ensure that other factors, such as physical appearance or personality, did not affect whether children were chosen to join a family or remain in an institution. Researchers worked with Romanian authorities to place half the children with families that had been rigorously vetted to ensure they would provide good homes. Since that time, most of these children have remained with their foster families. Children living with their biological families have served as a control group. The orphans who remained in institutions have significantly more behavioral and neurological deficits than those who went to families: At age 4.5, more than 40% had anxiety disorders and 4% had major depressive disorders. Many also exhibited signs of autism such as “stereotypies,” repetitive behaviors such as rocking and arm-flapping. In the new study, the team scanned the brains of 74 of the Bucharest children, now ages 8 to 11, using magnetic resonance imaging. What they found was striking: Brains of children who had remained in institutions had less white matter—the type of tissue that connects different regions of the brain—than orphans who were placed in foster care or children living with their own families. But placements in foster homes—the children went to families when they were 6 to 31 months old—did not wipe away all problems. Though the children with families were doing better than the children left in institutions, brains of both groups remained far from normal, with less gray matter than children who had been with families all along. Both groups also had significantly higher rates of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder. The findings underscore both the potential for recovery from early-life isolation and the devastating reach social deprivation can have even if experienced only for the first few years of life.—Sheridana, M. A., Fox, N. A., Zeanah, C. H., McLaughlin, K. A., & Nelson, C. A., III. (2012). Variation in neural development as a result of exposure to institutionalization early in childhood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America. Advance online publication.