Short-Term Memory Performance in Children with Down Syndrome: Analysis Based on Simultaneous and Sequential Array Conditions
| Author | Zahra Nazari | en |
| Author | Parvaneh Shamsipour Dehkordi | en |
| Author | Parisa Hejazi Dinan | en |
| Author | Maryam Khalaji | en |
| Orcid | Parvaneh Shamsipour Dehkordi [0000-0001-7750-5734] | en |
| Orcid | Parisa Hejazi Dinan [0000-0001-5743-2566] | en |
| Orcid | Maryam Khalaji [0009-0001-5445-5364] | en |
| Issued Date | 2026-05-31 | en |
| Abstract | Background: Recent research suggests that visuospatial working memory profiles differ across developmental disorders, with the spatial-simultaneous component potentially more vulnerable than the spatial-sequential component. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effects of simultaneous versus sequential presentation of visual arrays on short-term memory performance in children with Down syndrome (DS) and their typically developing (TD) peers. Methods: This cross-sectional, causal-comparative study used a field-based design. A convenience sample of 24 children aged 8 to 12 years, including 12 children with DS and 12 TD children, was recruited from the Semnan City Rehabilitation Center between February 19 and February 28, 2025. Eligibility criteria for the DS group included a confirmed diagnosis (typically trisomy 21), an IQ between 50 and 70, and adequate auditory and visual acuity. Participants completed a computerized matrix task under 2 conditions: simultaneous presentation, in which target locations represented by coins were shown all at once for 1000 ms, and sequential presentation, in which the same items were shown one after another. The primary outcome measure was the mean percentage of correctly recalled locations; higher scores indicated better performance. Results: A mixed-design analysis of variance revealed significant main effects of group and presentation type, as well as a significant group-by-presentation type interaction. Overall, the TD group demonstrated higher response accuracy than the DS group. In addition, performance in the simultaneous presentation condition was superior to that in the sequential presentation condition in both groups. The significant interaction indicated that the magnitude of the difference between presentation types differed between the 2 groups. Conclusions: These findings provide evidence of a general short-term memory deficit in children with DS compared with their TD peers. However, children with DS performed notably better on the simultaneous task, suggesting a relative strength in processing concurrently presented visual information. This finding has important implications for designing targeted educational and therapeutic interventions. Future research should match participants by mental age to better disentangle the nature of memory differences between these groups. | en |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.69107/jmcl-166345 | en |
| URI | https://brieflands.com/journals/jmcl/articles/166345 | en |
| Keyword | Typically Developing Children | en |
| Keyword | Intellectual Disability | en |
| Keyword | Visuospatial Working Memory | en |
| Publisher | Brieflands | en |
| Title | Short-Term Memory Performance in Children with Down Syndrome: Analysis Based on Simultaneous and Sequential Array Conditions | en |
| Type | Research Article | en |
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