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A VIRTUAL Three-month Intervention Study of the Effects of a Smartphone Application (HippoCamera) on Memory in Teens and Young Adults With Down Syndrome
Use of a Digital Memory Prosthetic to Support Autobiographical Memory in Down Syndrome
Who can join
Ages 15 to 35 · All sexes
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of Down syndrome * Daily access to a smart phone * The ability to create and replay memories using HippoCamera with limited support from a guardian * Informed consent obtained from parent or guardian (or participant, if legally independent) * Informed verbal assent obtained from participant * Ability to comprehend instructions, denoted by parent/guardian acknowledgment * English as a primary written and spoken language * Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing * All races/ethnicities and socio-economic statuses Exclusion Criteria: * Autism * Non-native speaker of English (acquired after the age of 5)
About the study
Down syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality associated with significant deficits across multiple cognitive domains, including a disproportionate deficit in hippocampally-dependent memory. In other words, individuals with Down syndrome may have a particular difficulty remembering specific details from past events. One way this manifests itself is in overgeneral autobiographical memory, or a tendency to remember the general gist of an event or cluster of events, rather than a single, isolated event. This overgeneral memory makes it difficult for individuals with Down syndrome to access their past, can interfere with attempts to becoming more independent, and increases anxiety and depression.
In the current VIRTUAL study, the investigators test whether a new digital memory prosthetic-HippoCamera-can enhance specific autobiographical memory in individuals with Down syndrome. In HippoCamera, users are asked to record and replay events from their daily lives. This replay is curated by a research-based algorithm in HippoCamera that optimizes consolidation of these events over time and has been shown to enhance memory specificity in other populations with memory impairments, particularly those that stem from hippocampal disfunction. It is, therefore, likely that similar enhancements in autobiographical memory specificity will be identified in individuals with Down syndrome, highlighting the benefits of this applications in this population.
What is being tested
- Memory replay (behavioral)
Sponsor: Boston College · Participants: 40 · Started: Jun 1, 2025
Contact the study team
- Jaclyn Ford, PhD · Phone: 617-312-4735
- Lauren Voso, BS · Phone: (617) 552-6949
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07008989
Locations in the U.S.
| Massachusetts | Boston College ONLINE STUDY, Chestnut Hill |
Conditions
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Oct 2, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.