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| Research Contact Us
Down Syndrome Research Foundation 1409 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby
email: info@dsrf.org  Follow us on Facebook  Visit DSRF
 Conference on Developmental Disabilities
 The Centre for Specialized Learning (CSL)
| Research
Experts once thought the human brain was “hard-wired” or “fixed” after the first few years of development. Now we know the brain can re-organize itself after an injury or through experience and learning. Targeted thinking and learning experiences can cause new nerve connections to be formed and thus change the brain’s functional organization and underlying structure. The big question is, how can we harness the brain’s potential and reorganize specific connections in a person with Down syndrome or in someone who’s had a stroke or developmental injury? In the Down Syndrome Research Foundation lab, scientists are studying brain function using behavioural assessments and magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG shows the brain in action, by measuring the tiny magnetic fields that are produced when neurons fire. The MEG is non-invasive, allowing us to study the brain of individuals of all ages. By combining MEG information with the information collected from the assessments, we begin to understand how people with Down syndrome see the world around them and how they process information. Such insights are enabling us to develop programs appropriate to each person - programs that maximize academic, social, health and language development.
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