Alison Luongo

I'm passionate about pediatric and lifespan neuropsychology. I've focused primarily on neurodevelopmental disorders, especially Down syndrome. My research broadly focuses on sleep and memory in neurodevelopmental disorders. My major project is evaluating how exercise impact memory in children with and without Down syndrome, using sleep and attention as possible moderators. Partnering with the Campus Recreation Center, we received a generous donation from a local family in Tucson to subsidize fees for participants and this study is also funded by the Lejeune Foundation. 

In other endeavors, I am currently an Arizona LEND fellow, and extern at Neuropsychology LTD., and an extern at Child & Family Resources with Healthy Families. I hope to pursue a career at a pediatric academic medical center where I can continue research projects while directly serving these populations. 

Peer Reviewed Journaled Articles

• Edgin, J.O., Combsm D., Spano, G., Dwyer, P., Luongo, A., Parent-Johnson, W. (In-Press). Sleep’s Role for Development in Autistic Youth. Pediatrics. 
• Lovos, A., Egleson, L., Murphey, M., Sakhon, S., Luongo, A., Bottrill, K., Hughes, K., Thurman, A., Abedutto, L., Lee, N., Edgin, J.O. (October, 2021). Circadian Sleep-Activity Rhythm in Teenagers with Down Syndrome. Brain Sciences, special issue: "Sleep Disorders in Intellectual Disability—From Bench to Bedside".
• Van Deusen, K., Luongo, A., Edgin, J.O., Fiddler, D., (In Prep) Sleep markers for early ADHD Symptoms in infants and toddlers with Down syndrome.
• Hughes, K., Sakhon, S., Reichsfeld, A., Luongo, A., Raitano, L., Abbeduto, L., Thurman, A., Edgin, J.O. (2022) Typical and atypically developing children benefit from retrieval practice vs repetition of arbitrary event sequences across long-term delays and in the face of sleep disturbance. 
• Luongo, A., Lukowski, A., Protho, T., Van-Vorce, H., Pisani, L., & Edgin., J.O. (December, 2020). Sleep's role in memory consolidation: What can we learn from atypical development? Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 60.
• Sakhon, S., Edwards, K., Luongo, A., Murphy, M., & Edgin, J.O. (October, 2018). Small sets of novel words are fully retained after 1-week in Down syndrome: A fast mapping study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 24(9), 955-965.

Poster Presentations:

• Luongo., A., Barness, B., Bottrill, K., Garrett, K., Weaver, N., Edgin, J.O., (April, 2023). Exercise improves reaction time on a switching and attention task in children with Down syndrome. Poster session to be presented at the Gatlinburg Conference.
• Barness, B., Luongo, A., Bottrill, K., Garrett, K., Weaver, N., Edgin, J.O. (April, 2023). Heart Rate Variability in Swim Exercise in Children with Down syndrome. Poster session to be presented at the Gatlinburg Conference. 
• Sala, K., Luongo, A., Edgin, J.O., (April, 2022) The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Autistic Populations: A Literature Review, Poster session presented at the College of Science Capstone Showcase, Tucson, AZ.
• Van Vorce, H., Luongo, A., Edgin, J.O. (August, 2021) Sleep Dependent Memory Consolidation: Outcomes in ASD and DS, Poster session presented at the University of Arizona UROC Showcase.
• Van Vorce, H., Luongo, A., Edgin, J.O. (July, 2021) Sleep Dependent Memory Consolidation: Outcomes in ASD and DS, Poster session presented at the UCLA McNair Conference.
• Luongo, A., Van Vorce, H., Pisani, L, Bottrill, K., Khosla, P., Edgin, J.O., (April, 2021). Sleep and cognition across the first 20 years of life in children with and without sleep Impairment, Poster session presented at the University of Arizona Psychology Master's Forum. 
• Luongo, A., Van Vorce, H., Bottrill, K., Khosla, P., Hughes, K., Spano, G., Sakhon, S., Pisani, L., & Edgin, J.O., (April, 2021) The Influence of Sleep on Verbal Skills in Individuals with Down syndrome from Preschool to Young Adulthood, Poster session presented at the Gatlinburg Conference.
• Van Vorce, H., Luongo, A., Bottrill, K., Khosla, P., Hughes, K., Spano, G., Sakhon, S., Pisani, L., & Edgin, J.O., (April, 2021) Relationship Between Sleep and Executive Function In Children with Down Syndrome from Infancy to Young Adulthood, Poster session presented at the Gatlinburg Conference.
• Bottrill, K., Hughes, K., Pisani, L., Protho, T., Sampsel. M., Luongo, A., Lee, N., Abbeduto, L., Thurman, A., Khosla, P., Edgin, J.O. (April, 2021) Sleep quality and neurocognitive function in children with and without Down syndrome, Poster session presented at the Gatlinburn Conference. 
• Van Vorce, H., Luongo, A., Bottrill, K., Khosla, P., Hughes, K., Spano, G., Sakhon, S., Pisani, L., & Edgin, J.O., (January, 2021) Relationship Between Sleep and Executive Function In Children with Down Syndrome from Infancy to Young Adulthood, Undergraduate Biology Research Program Conference, The University of Arizona.
• Stanly, T. & Luongo, A., (May, 2020) Sleep as a Biomarker for Early Detection of ADHD in Infants with Down Syndrome, A Literature Review and Project Proposal. Poster session presented at the University of Arizona, Honor's College First-Year Poster Competition.
• Sawal, F. & Luongo, A., (May 2020) Sleep in Children with ADHD in Juvenile Detention Centers, A Literature Review. Poster session presented at the University of Arizona, Honor's College First-Year Poster Competition.
• Luongo, A., Spano, G., Clark, C., Edgin, J.O. (April, 2020) Context Effects in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Assessing Contextual Binding & ADOS Severity. Poster session presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, San Diego, CA.
• Luongo, A., Edgin, J.O., Sakon, S., & Hughes, K. and the Memory Measures for ID Consortium (May, 2018) How Sleep Influences 2-Week Temporal Recall Across Developmental Disorders. Poster session presented at the College of Science Capstone Showcase, Tucson, AZ.
• Hughes, K., Sakhon, S., Luongo, A., Reichsfeld, A., Sampsel, M., & Edgin, J.O., (2019). Differences In Memory Function across Age In Down Syndrome. Symposium at the Gatlinburg Conference, San Antonio, Tx. 
• Sakhon, S., Liu, Y., Nyhuis, C., Luongo, A., Edgin J.O., (April, 2017) Mechanisms of Word-Learning in Typical and Atypical Development. Poster session presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Austin, TX.   
• Nyhuis, C., Sakhon, S., Luongo, A., Edwards, K., Pisani, L., Edgin, J.O., (March, 2017). A Novel Computerized Assessment for Examining Memory in Children with Intellectual Disabilities. Poster session presented at the Gatlinburg Conference, San Antonio, TX.

Dissertation Title:

• Physical Activity and Swimming as an Intervention for Sleep and Memory Formation in Individuals with Down Syndrome and Neurotypical Peers

Courses Taught:

• PSY 413 - Drugs, Brain, & Behavior (2024)

*Year listed indicates when this individual last taught the specified course.

Awards and Recognitions:

• Galileo Scholar (2023)

Updated: 10/17/24