Lateralisation of speech stimuli in young Down's Syndrome children

The auditory processing of linguistic (single-syllable common nouns) stimulation, presented dichotically, was investigated in a group of young (mean CA = 52 months) Down's Syndrome children and 2 groups of nonretarded children, matched on CA. The Down's Syndrome children showed a significant left ear advantage in processing this material, and the nonretarded children the typical right ear advantage. That an advantage should be shown in such chronologically young retarded children is of relevance to the relationship between lateralisation and cognitive development, and the reversed pattern corroborates work with older Down's Syndrome children.     

Growth of short bones of the hand in children with Down's syndrome.

In this study, we report the elongation of the diaphyses of the short bones of the hand in an institutionalised sample of children with Down's syndrome. These diaphyses are significantly shorter than normal which is typical of other physical dimensions of individuals with Down's syndrome. Sex differences were generally lacking in diaphyseal lengths; this is in agreement with earlier reports. Pubescent spurts were not detected, but their absence cannot be certain. Roche (1965) reports the common absence of pubescent spurts in stature in children with Down's syndrome. However, only the magnitude of growth in stature of a small sample of these Down's children differed from normal; this dissimilarity was the result of differences in adult statures of normal and Down's individuals (Rarick, Wainer, Thissen and Seefeldt, 1975). Benda (1960) speculates that growth of the short bones of the hand stops early; thus, the pubescent spurt may be prevented by premature, epiphyseal closure. This would be in partial agreement with reports for stature (Roche, 1965). In this sample of children with Down's syndrome the extra chromosome, No. 21, appears to affect the growth of short bones of the hand before seven years of age. The diaphyses of short bones of the hand in these children are shorter than normal by seven years of age and significantly so after eleven years of age; but thereafter, these bones grow normally except for the absence of a pubescent spurt. This pattern is similar to reports of growth in length of other parts of the skeleton in children with Down's syndrome.     

Comparative coherence studies in healthy volunteers and Down's syndrome patients from childhood to adult age.

Within the scope of the Munich Pediatric Longitudinal Study, EEG coherence was studied in 212 Down's syndrome patients and 342 healthy controls aged from 6 months up to 30 years. The digitalized EEG records were subjected to spectral analysis. Frequency band-related coherences were calculated to reveal age-specific differences in the functional relationship between two brain areas in Down's syndrome patients and controls. The results show that in the "eyes-open" state the intra-hemispheric coherence in the alpha band was significantly lower (P less than 0.05) in the Down's syndrome patients than in the controls whereas that in the delta bands it was generally higher. The intra-hemispheric coherence in the "eyes-closed" state was generally higher in the Down's syndrome groups than in the controls; however, significant differences could be detected only in some age groups. The age-specific development of coherence in the inter-hemispheric parieto-occipital region was almost identical in Down's syndrome children as in controls, both with open and closed eyes. The most distinct differences were found in the fronto-central inter-hemispheric coherence (P less than 0.01), while the coherence deficiencies in the Down's syndrome group became more prominent with increasing age from school age onwards. These electrophysiological results are compared with the results of neuropathological and neurophysiological studies of other authors. It can be suggested that there are correlations with a significantly small number of dendritic spines in Down's syndrome patients, which was determined in neuropathological examinations. A neuronal model of interpretation is presented which explains the increasing developmental deficit with age in Down's syndrome children.     

Coherence in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and excess beta activity in their EEG.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated differences in coherence measures between two groups of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - with the typical EEG profile (increased theta and decreased beta activity), and with excess beta activity - and a normal control group. METHODS: Thirty-four children with ADHD were included in each of the typical and excess beta groups, and were age and sex matched with 34 control subjects. EEG was recorded from 21 sites during an eyes-closed resting condition. Wave-shape coherence was calculated for eight intrahemispheric and eight interhemispheric electrode pairs, for the delta, theta, alpha and beta bands. RESULTS: In comparison to the controls, the typical ADHD group primarily had increased intrahemispheric theta and beta coherence at short-medium inter-electrode distances, and increased interhemispheric coherence for theta in the frontal and central/parietal/occipital regions. Their laterality effect for interhemispheric short-medium inter-electrode distances was reduced in the theta band. Differences between the excess beta group and the control group were primarily found in laterality of the intrahemispheric theta coherence at short-medium electrode distances, and increased interhemispheric theta coherence in the frontal regions. Reduced delta coherence in the temporal regions was also found. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that ADHD children with excess beta power have an underlying brain dysfunction in the frontal lobes which is found in common with children with the typical EEG profile. However a number of qualitative differences exist which could be associated with other aspects of the ADHD diagnosis or another comorbid condition. SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study to investigate EEG coherence in ADHD children who have increased beta power.     

Ultradian rhythms and temporal coherence in sleep EEG in depressed children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that a primary ultradian (80-120 minute) rhythm disturbance in EEG underlies sleep abnormalities in adults with depression. The present study evaluated ultradian rhythm disturbances in childhood and adolescent depression. METHODS: Sleep macroarchitecture and temporal coherence in quantitative EEG rhythms were investigated in 50 medication-free outpatients with major depression (25 children and 25 adolescents) and 15 healthy normal controls (5 children and 10 adolescents). RESULTS: Few of the macroarchitectural measures showed significant group effects. In fact, age and sex effects were stronger than disease-dependent components. Temporal coherence of EEG rhythms during sleep did differentiate those with MDD from controls. Both depressed children and adolescents had lower intrahemispheric coherence, whereas interhemispheric was only lower in depressed adolescents in comparison with controls. Gender differences were evident in adolescents, but not children, with MDD with lowest interhemispheric coherence in adolescent girls. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are in keeping with increased risk for depression in females beginning at adolescence and extending throughout adulthood. It was suggested that low temporal coherence in depression reflects a disruption in the fundamental basic rest-activity cycle of arousal and organization in the brain that is strongly influenced by gender.     

Do anomalies of handedness exist in children with Fragile-X syndrome?

Hand preference and skill were assessed in 27 children with Fragile-X syndrome, 30 children with Down's Syndrome, and 29 normal developing children. Three separate and specific anomalies of handedness that have been reported in other learning-disordered groups were examined: increased incidence of left-handedness; ambiguous or inconsistent handedness; and preference-skill discordance. The results revealed no difference between the subject groups in the distribution of left-handedness or ambiguous handedness. The main differences was the percentage of children who were discordant for hand preference and hand skill. In the Fragile-X group 37% preferred to use their right hand but demonstrated no overall difference in skilled performance between the hands. In contrast, only 13% of children with Down's Syndrome and 17% of normal controls showed this pattern of hand discordance. The results are discussed in the context of past research that has shown a similar dissociation of preference and skill in children with autism.     

Cerebrovascular disease and hippocampal atrophy are differently linked to functional coupling of brain areas: an EEG coherence study in MCI subjects

The working hypothesis of paper is that the functional coupling of brain areas is combined with different neuroradiological substrates and has different clinical manifestations. 31 normal old subjects and 85 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) underwent EEG recordings and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Intrahemispheric and interhemispheric linear EEG coherences were computed. At first, all normal old and MCI subjects were compared. Subsequently, three subgroups of MCI were obtained based on neuroradiological substrate (subcortical cerebrovascular damage, MCI-CVD; cholinergic pathways vascular damage MCI-CHOL; and hippocampal atrophy, MCI-HIPP) and compared with a normal old sample matched for age, education and Mini-Mental State Examination score. The group of MCI subjects compared to normal old subjects shows: 1) decrease of intrahemispheric coherence in fronto-parietal regions (both right and left hemisphere); 2) increase of interhemispheric coherence on frontal regions in delta frequency; and 3) increase of interhemispheric coherence on temporal regions (from delta to alpha3 frequency bands). In the MCI subgroups, hippocampal atrophy is linked to an increase of interhemispheric coherence seen on frontal and temporal regions whereas subcortical CVD is linked to the largest decrease of coherence in fronto-parietal regions. MCI-CVD patients performed worst on Trail Making Test battery whereas MCI-HIPP patients were impaired on Rey word list delayed recall and Rey figure recall.     

Different brain activation patterns in dyslexic children: evidence from EEG power and coherence patterns for the double-deficit theory of dyslexia

AIMS: QEEG and neuropsychological tests were used to investigate the underlying neural processes in dyslexia. METHODS: A group of dyslexic children were compared with a matched control group from the Brain Resource International Database on measures of cognition and brain function (EEG and coherence). RESULTS: The dyslexic group showed increased slow activity (Delta and Theta) in the frontal and right temporal regions of the brain. Beta-1 was specifically increased at F7. EEG coherence was increased in the frontal, central and temporal regions for all frequency bands. There was a symmetric increase in coherence for the lower frequency bands (Delta and Theta) and a specific right-temporocentral increase in coherence for the higher frequency bands (Alpha and Beta). Significant correlations were observed between subtests such as Rapid Naming Letters, Articulation, Spelling and Phoneme Deletion and EEG coherence profiles. DISCUSSION: The results support the double-deficit theory of dyslexia and demonstrate that the differences between the dyslexia and control group might reflect compensatory mechanisms. INTEGRATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: These findings point to a potential compensatory mechanism of brain function in dyslexia and helps to separate real dysfunction in dyslexia from acquired compensatory mechanisms.     

EEG coherence in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a comparative study of two DSM-IV types.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated differences in intrahemispheric and interhemispheric electroencephalographic (EEG) coherences between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and control children, and between children with the Combined (ADHDcom) and Inattentive (ADHDin) types of ADHD. METHODS: Three age- and sex-matched groups of 40 children, aged 8-12 years, diagnosed with ADHDcom, ADHDin, and normal control children, participated in this study. EEG was recorded from 21 sites during an eyes-closed resting condition and Fourier transformed. Wave-shape coherence was calculated for 8 intrahemispheric electrode pairs (4 in each hemisphere), and 8 interhemispheric electrode pairs, within each of the delta, theta, alpha and beta bands. RESULTS: At shorter inter-electrode distances, ADHD children had elevated intrahemispheric coherences in the theta band and reduced lateral differences in the theta and alpha bands. At longer inter-electrode distances, ADHD children had lower intrahemispheric alpha coherences than controls. Frontally, ADHD children had interhemispheric coherences elevated in the delta and theta bands, and reduced in the alpha band. An alpha coherence reduction in temporal regions, and a theta coherence enhancement in central/parietal/occipital regions, were also apparent. ADHDcom had greater intrahemispheric theta and beta coherences than ADHDin. Frontally, ADHDcom had higher levels of interhemispheric coherences than ADHDin for the delta and theta bands. In central/parietal/occipital regions, beta coherences were elevated in ADHDcom. CONCLUSIONS: EEG coherences suggest reduced cortical differentiation and specialisation in ADHD, particularly in cortico-cortical circuits involving theta activity. Generally, ADHDcom children displayed greater anomalies than ADHDin children.     

Age and gender effects in EEG coherence: I. Developmental trends in normal children.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated intra-hemispheric and inter-hemispheric EEG coherences as a function of age and gender in normal children. METHODS: Two groups of 40 boys and 40 girls, each containing 8 normal children in each 1-year band from 8 to 12 years, participated. EEG was recorded from 21 sites during an eyes-closed resting condition. Wave-shape coherence was calculated for 8 intra-hemispheric electrode pairs (4 in each hemisphere), and 8 inter-hemispheric electrode pairs, within each of the delta, theta, alpha and beta bands. RESULTS: There was consistent evidence of coherences developing across this age range, particularly in long-range intra- and inter-hemispheric electrode pairs. Coherences were larger in the left hemisphere than the right. Coherences also appeared to develop further in males than females, across several regions and frequency bands, suggesting that females lag males in this aspect of brain development. CONCLUSIONS: EEG coherences in normal children of this age range develop systematically with age. These developmental effects vary substantially with gender, brain region and frequency bands. SIGNIFICANCE: The data reported here provide basic norms for coherence development in different brain regions in normal children.     

Attraction to "good form" in Down's syndrome.

Seventy-five children were examined in tasks involving matching figures in order to establish whether there exists a specific attraction to symmetrical or Gestalt type "good form" displays in mentally handicapped children and particularly in Down's Syndrome or if the tendency was towards image reversal. Twenty-five children with Down's Syndrome were matched on M.A. with twenty-five non-Down's Syndrome subnormals and twenty-five normal children. Symmetrical and asymmetrical displays were presented to the groups for reproduction and reproduction from memory. The results supported the hypothesis that mentally handicapped children have a significant attraction to symmetrical arrangements and that Down's Syndrome children are more significantly attracted than other handicapped children. Evidence is presented to show that what often is mistaken for a tendency to image reversal is in fact an attraction to "monotonicity" and is more related to "good form" than to reversal.     

Maturation of the coherence of EEG activity in normal and learning-disabled children.

The age effect on coherence has been studied in control (98) and learning-disabled (LD, 54) school-aged children (from 6.0 to 16.8 years old). The EEG recordings were made at rest in 15 leads, and 105 pairwise combinations for coherence were calculated (each lead was compared with all the rest) for delta, theta, alpha, beta and total frequency bands. A significant increase of coherence with age was found in both groups, with a different pattern of maturation. In the control group, a significant increase with age was found in the coherences between posterior regions and vertex (Cz). A significant decrease with age in the coherence between frontal areas was observed, especially in the theta band. The LD group showed a different pattern: no significant relation with age was found in the coherence between any lead and vertex. A high effect of age on coherence between temporal regions was observed with a predominance of the left side in comparison with the contralateral and the ipsilateral. No decrease in frontal coherence was found: in the same region where the control group showed negative values with age, the LD groups had no age effect. The results obtained are discussed as differences in brain organization, in myelogenesis and synaptogenesis and an explanation of the etiology of LD is proposed.     

Waking EEG functional connectivity in middle-aged and older adults with obstructive sleep apnea

ObjectivesThe present study aimed at investigating changes in waking electroencephalography (EEG), most specifically regarding spectral power and functional connectivity, in middle-aged and older adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We also explored whether changes in spectral power or functional connectivity are associated with polysomnographic characteristics and/or neuropsychological performance.MethodsIn sum, 19 OSA subjects (apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 20, age: 63.6 ± 6.4) and 22 controls (apnea-hypopnea index ≤ 10, age: 63.6 ± 6.7) underwent a full night of in-laboratory polysomnography (PSG) followed by a waking EEG and a neuropsychological assessment. Waking EEG spectral power and imaginary coherence were compared between groups for all EEG frequency bands and scalp regions. Correlation analyses were performed between selected waking EEG variables, polysomnographic parameters and neuropsychological performance.ResultsNo group difference was observed for EEG spectral power for any frequency band. Regarding the imaginary coherence, when compared to controls, OSA subjects showed decreased EEG connectivity between frontal and temporal regions in theta and alpha bands as well as increased connectivity between frontal and parietal regions in delta and beta 1 bands. In the OSA group, these changes in connectivity correlated with lower sleep efficiency, lower total sleep time and higher apnea-hypopnea index. No relationship was found with neuropsychological performance.ConclusionsContrary to spectral power, imaginary coherence was sensitive enough to detect changes in brain function in middle-aged and older subjects with OSA when compared to controls. Whether these changes in cerebral connectivity predict cognitive decline needs to be investigated longitudinally.     

Dichotic listening of verbal and non verbal material by Down's syndrome children and children of normal intelligence

In an attempt to resolve the conflicting findings of earlier research on the direction of dichotic ear preferences in Down's Syndrome, two verbal and one nonverbal dichotic tests were administered to a group of Down's Syndrome subjects and a group of nursery school children of similar MA. The expected patterns of ear advantage emerged for the normal sample. Overall levels of lateralisation for the Down's group were not significant but the group was characterised by a high level of subjects with reversed ear advantages for verbal material. This reversal was not found for the nonverbal material. On the basis of earlier findings on the general mentally handicapped population it was concluded that reversal of ear advantage for verbal material was not characteristic of Down's Syndrome but may be associated with level of language ability.     

EEG coherence at rest and during a visual task in two groups of children

EEG coherence was studied in a group of n = 31 normal children (NG) and in a group of n = 25 mildly mentally retarded children (EG), 10-13 years old. This was done for a recording at rest, eyes closed, and one during which a visual matching task was presented. Coherence showed little structure across frequency, apart from a slow decline towards higher frequencies. For the EEG at rest, coherence was higher for the EG and a slight increase with age was found. The visual task changed the coherence pattern in a complex way, and differently for the two groups. Coherence decreased in the fronto-central region (about the same in both groups) and increased in occipito-parietal central combinations (more so for the NG). The delta band showed predominantly an increase for the NG.     

A comparison of the electroencephalogram between institutionalized and community children in Romania

Electroencephalographic (EEG) data were collected from a sample of institutionalized infants and young children in Bucharest, Romania, and were compared with EEG data from age-matched children from the local community who had never been institutionalized and who were living with their families in the Bucharest area. Compared with the never-institutionalized group, the institutionalized group showed a pattern of increased low-frequency (theta) power in posterior scalp regions and decreased high-frequency (alpha and beta) power, particularly at frontal and temporal electrode sites. This finding is consistent with EEG studies of children facing environmental adversity and children with learning disorders. The institutionalized group also showed less marked hemispheric EEG asymmetries than the never-institutionalized group, particularly in the temporal region. The results are discussed in the context of two models: that the pattern of EEG in the institutionalized children reflects a maturational lag in nervous system development, or that it reflects tonic cortical hypoactivation.     

Correlative study of the cognitive impairment, regional cerebral blood flow, and electroencephalogram abnormalities in children with Down's syndrome

The aim of this study was to investigate possible correlations of the cognitive impairment with abnormalities of regional cerebral blood flow and electroencephalogram in children with (Down's Syndrome) DS. Nine patients with DS were evaluated by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in combination with clinical findings, electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In cases with IQs below 40, there were one or more findings of abnormal EEG/MRI and brain perfusion SPECT. In 6 cases (66.7%) EEG findings were normal, but 3 (33.3%) had abnormal EEG findings. Perfusion abnormalities were most pronounced in the fronto-parieto-temporal region in the form of hypoperfusion (n = 5) and in the right hemisphere (n = 5) than the left hemisphere (n = 1). These findings suggest that the children with DS had varying levels of structural, perfusion, and electrophysiological abnormalities in the brain and these abnormalities were reflected by measurable alterations of the cognitive functions.     

Seasonal affective disorder: spatial organization of EEG power and coherence in the depressive state and in light-induced and summer remission.

The present study analyzed EEG power and coherence in subjects with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during depressive episodes and during light-induced and summer remission. Baseline EEG activity was recorded during the winter period before light treatment (31 SAD patients, 30 control subjects); after 10 days of 2-h morning light treatment (10 SAD subjects); and during the summer period (14 SAD subjects, 27 control subjects). EEG power and coherence were calculated for the delta, theta-1, theta-2, alpha, beta-1 and beta-2 frequency bands. Compared with control subjects, SAD subjects had lower than normal EEG power in most frequency bands; asymmetrical distribution of delta, theta-1, theta-2 and alpha activity in parietal and temporal regions due to increased EEG power over the left electrode sites; and beta activity in the lateral frontal region due to increased beta power over the right electrode site. The foci of decreased EEG coherence were mainly in the right and left frontal and the right posterior regions. Remitted SAD subjects showed normalization of inter-hemispheric asymmetry in lateral frontal areas; increases of delta, theta-2, and alpha activity compared with control values; theta-1 activity in excess of control values; and disappearance of the foci of decreased coherence in anterior areas of the left hemisphere.     

Seasonal affective disorder: spatial organization of EEG power and coherence in the depressive state and in light-induced and summer remission

The present study analyzed EEG power and coherence in subjects with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during depressive episodes and during light-induced and summer remission. Baseline EEG activity was recorded during the winter period before light treatment (31 SAD patients, 30 control subjects); after 10 days of 2-h morning light treatment (10 SAD subjects); and during the summer period (14 SAD subjects, 27 control subjects). EEG power and coherence were calculated for the delta, theta-1, theta-2, alpha, beta-1 and beta-2 frequency bands. Compared with control subjects, SAD subjects had lower than normal EEG power in most frequency bands; asymmetrical distribution of delta, theta-1, theta-2 and alpha activity in parietal and temporal regions due to increased EEG power over the left electrode sites; and beta activity in the lateral frontal region due to increased beta power over the right electrode site. The foci of decreased EEG coherence were mainly in the right and left frontal and the right posterior regions. Remitted SAD subjects showed normalization of inter-hemispheric asymmetry in lateral frontal areas; increases of delta, theta-2, and alpha activity compared with control values; theta-1 activity in excess of control values; and disappearance of the foci of decreased coherence in anterior areas of the left hemisphere.     

Resting state EEG power and coherence abnormalities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Resting state electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients suggest alterations in neural oscillatory activity. However, few studies directly compare these anomalies between patient groups, and none have examined EEG coherence. Therefore, this study investigated whether these electrophysiological characteristics differentiate clinical populations from one another, and from non-psychiatric controls. To address this question, resting EEG power and coherence were assessed in 76 bipolar patients (BP), 132 schizophrenia patients (SZ), and 136 non-psychiatric controls (NC). We conducted separate repeated-measures ANOVAs to examine group differences within seven frequency bands across several brain regions. BP showed significantly greater power relative to SZ at higher frequencies including Beta and Gamma across all regions. In terms of intra-hemispheric coherence, while SZ generally exhibited higher coherence at Delta compared to NC and BP, both SZ and BP showed higher coherence at Alpha1 and Alpha2. In contrast, BP and HC showed higher coherence within hemispheres compared to SZ at Beta 1. In terms of inter-hemispheric coherence, SZ displayed higher coherence compared to NC at temporal sites at both Alpha1 and Alpha2. Taken together, BP exhibited increased high frequency power with few disruptions in neural synchronization. In contrast, SZ generally exhibited enhanced synchronization within and across hemispheres. These findings suggest that resting EEG can be a sensitive measure for differentiating between clinical disorders.