Canine neuropsychological tests successfully applied in down's syndrome research

Down's syndrome adults have an exceptionally high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, their cognitive capabilities are difficult to assess because of impaired communication skills. To address this issue, Dr. Linda Nelson of the University of California at Irvine has modified tests developed to assess canine cognitive aging, thus providing a nonverbal protocol for assessing cognitive function. On June 30th, at the 9th annual canine cognition meeting, Dr. Nelson reported that Down's syndrome patients are highly motivated to perform the tasks, and show age-dependent decline in object memory tasks. By contrast, object discrimination learning was acquired rapidly, and did not show age differences. These results parallel age-dependent changes in dogs and further validate the canine model of cognitive aging.