What are recent findings in Down syndrome cognition research?
Background: All brain functions are accomplished through the operation of circuits. Each circuit is composed of neurons that are arranged in series. For example, a three neuron circuit would have neuron #1 connected to neuron #2 and neuron #2 in turn connected to neuron #3. Each neuron receives information on its dendrite and conveys information to the next neuron through an electrical signal that is sent down its axon. The electrical signal causes the release of a small molecule called a neurotransmitter. This occurs at the synapse, which is the point of contact between neurons. The synapse consists of two elements, a presynaptic element which represents the axon of the neuron immediately upstream in the circuit. The second element that is the dendrite of the neuron immediately downstream. The point at which the dendrite receives synaptic contacts is often on a specialization called a dendritic spine. The release of the neurotransmitter from the presynaptic element allows it to diffus
