# fNIRS as an outcome measure of the prefrontal hemodynamic response in Down syndrome

> **NIH NIH R21** · DREXEL UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $190,196

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
 Down syndrome (DS), the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability, is associated with
numerous medical comorbidities, including high rates of sleep disturbance. As highlighted in the NIH Research
Plan on Down Syndrome and the INCLUDE Project Research Plan, there is an urgent need to augment the
field's understanding of these commonly occurring health conditions to improve quality of life for individuals with
DS and those affected in the general population. An important research objective that must be met to ensure the
success of clinical trials research is the validation of reliable, patient-friendly outcome measures and biomarkers
to evaluate the efficacy of different treatment approaches. Both DS and sleep disturbances are associated with
atypical frontal lobe structure and function as well as impaired performance on prefrontally-mediated executive
function tasks. Currently, the field is lacking in valid outcome measures of prefrontal functioning for pediatric
samples with DS. Thus, the proposed research aims to facilitate clinical trials research for both DS and sleep by
evaluating the clinical utility of using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in conjunction with a
developmentally appropriate executive function test battery as an outcome measure of the prefrontal
hemodynamic response. The proposed study seeks to evaluate whether this tool is sensitive to the effects of
both DS and sleep disturbance and can be measured in young children with DS. If funded, the proposed research
will (1) test the feasibility of using fNIRS with a young sample of children with DS (ages 6-11 years, n=30) and
typically developing controls matched on chronological age (TDCA [n=20; 6-11 years]) or mental age (TDMA
[n=20; 3-5 years]) by quantifying the number of participants who successfully complete fNIRS data collection
and examining characteristics (e.g., behavior problems, younger age) associated with task completion success;
(2) evaluate whether fNIRS can detect differences in the prefrontal hemodynamic response in DS relative to
chronological and mental age expectations and asses its sensitivity to the effects of sleep on the prefrontal
hemodynamic response; (3) assess the clinical utility of the fNIRS-based prefrontal hemodynamic response in
DS by examining relations between task-based prefrontal neural efficiency and real-world functioning (i.e.,
adaptive and maladaptive behavior) in this group. The proposed research represents a critical next step in
clinical trials research for both DS and sleep problems. Without valid measures of key outcomes of interest for
these disorders, such as prefrontal functioning, the field will be unable to fully evaluate the efficacy of different
treatments that aim to improve quality life in these groups.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10022157
- **Project number:** 5R21HD100997-02
- **Recipient organization:** DREXEL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Hasan Ayaz
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $190,196
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-20 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10022157

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10022157, fNIRS as an outcome measure of the prefrontal hemodynamic response in Down syndrome (5R21HD100997-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10022157. Licensed CC0.

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