A VIRTUAL Three-month Intervention Study of the Effects of a Smartphone Application (HippoCamera) on Memory in Teens and Young Adults With Down Syndrome

NCT07008989 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: 1R21HD114263
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Memory Replay; HippoCamera

Keywords

Down syndrome; memory; hippocampus; technology

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Internal detail

  All memory narratives will be transcribed and scored using the Autobiographical Interview protocol. Highly trained raters will score each autobiographical memory according to the number and proportion of episodic (internal) vs. semantic (external) details. Episodic details are specific to the time and place of the targeted event, whereas semantic details involve factual information or extended events that do not require recollection of a specific time and place. Memory for episodic details requires the hippocampus, whereas memory for semantic details is more resistant to hippocampal damage.

  Baseline memory appointment (immediately prior to intervention), immediate post-treatment appointment (within a week of terminating intervention), and follow-up appointment (6 weeks after terminating intervention).

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Positive memory content

  Baseline memory appointment (immediately prior to intervention), immediate post-treatment appointment (within a week of terminating intervention), and follow-up appointment (6 weeks after terminating intervention).

• Independence

  Baseline memory appointment (immediately prior to intervention), immediate post-treatment appointment (within a week of terminating intervention), and follow-up appointment (6 weeks after terminating intervention).

• Positive and Negative mood

  Baseline memory appointment (immediately prior to intervention), immediate post-treatment appointment (within a week of terminating intervention), and follow-up appointment (6 weeks after terminating intervention).

Study Arms (2)

Immediate intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

During the first 12 weeks following enrollment, the Immediate Intervention group will engage in daily practice with the HippoCamera app. HippoCamera is a smartphone application that allows participants to record and replay important events in their daily lives. Based on principles from psychology and neuroscience, engaging in this daily practice may increase focus on memory-orientated practices in participants.

Behavioral: Memory replay

Delayed Intervention

OTHER

During the first 12 weeks following enrollment, the Delayed Intervention group will serve as a control, receiving no intervention. After the initial 12 weeks, they will be entered into daily engagement with the HippoCamera app.

Behavioral: Memory replay

Interventions

Memory replay BEHAVIORAL

Within the HippoCamera application, half of all recorded events will be categorized as "baseline" memories, and half will be categorized as "replay" memories. Baseline memories are recorded, but never viewed by the participant again until the "Early HippoCamera" test at the end of the 12-week intervention. Replay memories are recorded, and then placed into a memory gallery. HippoCamera uses a research-based algorithm to select 5 memories from this gallery for participants to replay each day. Prior research has shown that this replay is associated with significant memory enhancements for replayed v. baseline memories for HippoCamera users from other populations.

Delayed Intervention; Immediate intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

• Autism
• Non-native speaker of English (acquired after the age of 5)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston College: lead
• Massachusetts General Hospital: collaborator
• University of Colorado, Denver: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Boston College ONLINE STUDY

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 02467, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Down Syndrome

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Intellectual Disability; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Abnormalities, Multiple; Congenital Abnormalities; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities; Chromosome Disorders; Genetic Diseases, Inborn

Central Study Contacts

Jaclyn Ford, PhD

CONTACT

617-312-4735; jaclyn.ford@bc.edu

Lauren Voso, BS

CONTACT

(617) 552-6949

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Following a baseline screening and memory test, participants will be randomly assigned to one group. During the first 12 weeks, one group will be assigned to the HippoCamera intervention and the other will serve as a control, receiving no intervention. After the first 12 weeks, the second group will receive the HippoCamera intervention. Within the HippoCamera application, half of all recorded events will be categorized as "baseline" memories, and half will be categorized as "replay" memories. Baseline memories are recorded, but never viewed by the participant again until the test at the end of the 12-week intervention. Replay memories are recorded, and then placed into a memory gallery. HippoCamera uses a research-based algorithm to select 5 memories from this gallery for participants to replay each day. Prior research has shown that this replay is associated with significant memory enhancements for replayed v. baseline memories for HippoCamera users from other populations.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 27, 2025
• First Posted: June 6, 2025
• Study Start: June 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2026
• Last Updated: June 19, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Deidentified data will be available for access and sharing with interested researchers as soon as the final version of the manuscript is accepted for publication.
• Access Criteria: Survey data and autobiographical memory scores will be uploaded to a public database (e.g., OSF) in conjunction with each publication.

Locations

US (1)