NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WITH THE 22Q11 DELETION SYNDROME: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Previous reports of cognitive functioning in children with the 22q11 Deletion Syndrome have reported marked variability in IQ and achievement subtest scores. Studies have begun to explore neuropsychological function in 22q11 DS however results are inconsistent and the profile incomplete. We assessed 40 children ages 5–12 with 22q11 DS. Consistent with past results, visual-spatial memory was significantly lower than verbal memory. Differentially lowered scores were found only in visual attention, working memory and motor function. Contrary with some past results quantitative, verbal ability, and visual spatial memory scores were within 1 SD from the standardization sample mean. Motor behavior, not typically discussed with regard to 22q11 DS school-age children, may be critical to incorporate in neurocognitive studies of children with 22q11 DS. Implications of these findings are considered with regard to past results.

Author Note

The authors would like to thank our families for their ongoing participation in and heartfelt commitment to our work. In addition, we would like to thank Rosemary Collier for her help in maintaining the database. This research was supported by a grant from the Child Health and Human Development Branch of the National Institutes of Health (K08-HD040321, CS) and also by a General Clinical Research Center grant (M01-RR00102) from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health.