Sleep patterns and brain signals in young children with Down syndrome and autism
Administrative supplement
This project looks at sleep habits and brain activity in young children with Down syndrome to see how these relate to autism traits.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Colorado State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Fort Collins, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11195940 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your child has Down syndrome, this project asks families to help collect sleep and brain data alongside routine autism visits. Children will wear a small actigraphy device for seven continuous days while caregivers keep a sleep diary and complete a sleep questionnaire. During a clinic visit, the child will have a noninvasive fNIRS cap placed briefly to record brain activity. The team will combine these new measures with existing autism-related data from the parent study for about 50 children to check whether collecting usable data is practical and informative.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Young children with Down syndrome (roughly birth to 11 years) who can participate in the affiliated parent study and tolerate wearing a sleep monitor and a brief fNIRS session are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Adults, people without Down syndrome, or children who cannot wear the sensors or attend in-person visits are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could reveal sleep or brain patterns linked to autism features in children with Down syndrome and guide better-targeted supports or future treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Actigraphy and fNIRS have been used successfully in nonsyndromic autism and sleep research, but applying both to children with co-occurring Down syndrome and autism is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Fort Collins, United States
- Colorado State University — Fort Collins, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fidler, Deborah J — Colorado State University
- Study coordinator: Fidler, Deborah J
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.