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Faraone SV, Newcorn JH, Wozniak J, Joshi G, Coffey B, Uchida M, Wilens T, Surman C, Spencer TJ. In Memoriam: Professor Joseph Biederman's Contributions to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. J Atten Disord 2024; 28:550-582. [PMID: 39315575 PMCID: PMC10947509 DOI: 10.1177/10870547231225818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To provide an overview of Joe Biederman's contributions to child and adolescent psychiatry. METHOD Nine colleagues described his contributions to: psychopharmacology, comorbidity and genetics, pediatric bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorders, Tourette's and tic disorders, clinical and neuro biomarkers for pediatric mood disorders, executive functioning, and adult ADHD. RESULTS Joe Biederman left us with many concrete indicators of his contributions to child and adolescent psychiatry. He set up the world's first pediatric psychopharmacology clinic and clinical research program in child adolescent psychiatry. As a young faculty member he began a research program that led to many awards and eventual promotion to full professor at Harvard Medical School. He was for many years the most highly cited researcher in ADHD. He achieved this while maintaining a full clinical load and was widely respected for his clinical acumen. CONCLUSION The world is a better place because Joe Biederman was here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen V Faraone
- State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, USA
| | | | - Janet Wozniak
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gagan Joshi
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Mai Uchida
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Timothy Wilens
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Craig Surman
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thomas J Spencer
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Maitra S, Sarkar K, Sinha S, Mukhopadhyay K. The Dopamine Receptor D5 May Influence Age of Onset: An Exploratory Study on Indo-Caucasoid ADHD Subjects. J Child Neurol 2016; 31:1250-6. [PMID: 27250208 DOI: 10.1177/0883073816652233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2015] [Accepted: 04/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The objective was to investigate contribution of the dopamine receptor 5 (DRD5) gene variants in the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) probands since brain regions identified to be affected in these group of patients have higher expression of the DRD5 receptor. Out of 22 exonic variants, 19 were monomorphic in the Indo-Caucasoid individuals. rs6283 "C" and rs113828117 "A" exhibited significant higher occurrence in families with ADHD probands. Several haplotypes showed biased occurrence in the probands. Early and late onset groups exhibited significantly different genotypic frequencies. A new G>A substitution was observed in the control samples only. The late onset group exhibited higher scores for hyperactivity as compared to the early onset group. The authors infer that the age of onset of ADHD may at least partially be affected by DRD5 variants warranting further investigation on the role of DRD5 in the disease etiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subhamita Maitra
- Manovikas Biomedical Research and Diagnostic Centre, Kolkata, India
| | - Kanyakumarika Sarkar
- Manovikas Biomedical Research and Diagnostic Centre, Kolkata, India Department of Biotechnology, DOABA College, Jalandhar, Panjab, India
| | - Swagata Sinha
- Manovikas Biomedical Research and Diagnostic Centre, Kolkata, India
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Wade M, Prime H, Madigan S. Using Sibling Designs to Understand Neurodevelopmental Disorders: From Genes and Environments to Prevention Programming. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 2015:672784. [PMID: 26258141 PMCID: PMC4518166 DOI: 10.1155/2015/672784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2015] [Revised: 06/05/2015] [Accepted: 06/28/2015] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders represent a broad class of childhood neurological conditions that have a significant bearing on the wellbeing of children, families, and communities. In this review, we draw on evidence from two common and widely studied neurodevelopmental disorders-autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-to demonstrate the utility of genetically informed sibling designs in uncovering the nature and pathogenesis of these conditions. Specifically, we examine how twin, recurrence risk, and infant prospective tracking studies have contributed to our understanding of genetic and environmental liabilities towards neurodevelopmental morbidity through their impact on neurocognitive processes and structural/functional neuroanatomy. It is suggested that the siblings of children with ASD and ADHD are at risk not only of clinically elevated problems in these areas, but also of subthreshold symptoms and/or subtle impairments in various neurocognitive skills and other domains of psychosocial health. Finally, we close with a discussion on the practical relevance of sibling designs and how these might be used in the service of early screening, prevention, and intervention efforts that aim to alleviate the negative downstream consequences associated with disorders of neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Wade
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street W., Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1V6
| | - Heather Prime
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street W., Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1V6
| | - Sheri Madigan
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4
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Singh A, Yeh CJ, Verma N, Das AK. Overview of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Young Children. Health Psychol Res 2015; 3:2115. [PMID: 26973960 PMCID: PMC4768532 DOI: 10.4081/hpr.2015.2115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2014] [Revised: 12/17/2014] [Accepted: 12/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex disorder, which can be seen as a disorder of life time, developing in preschool years and manifesting symptoms (full and/or partial) throughout the adulthood; therefore, it is not surprising that there are no simple solutions. The aim of this paper is to provide a short and concise review which can be used to inform affected children and adults; family members of affected children and adults, and other medical, paramedical, non-medical, and educational professionals about the disorder. This paper has also tried to look into the process of how ADHD develops; what are the associated problems; and how many other children and adults are affected by such problems all over the world basically to understand ADHD more precisely in order to develop a better medical and or non-medical multimodal intervention plan. If preschool teachers and clinicians are aware of what the research tells us about ADHD, the varying theories of its cause, and which areas need further research, the knowledge will assist them in supporting the families of children with ADHD. By including information in this review about the connection between biological behavior, it is hoped that preschool teachers and clinicians at all levels will feel more confident about explaining to parents of ADHD children, and older ADHD children themselves about the probable causes of ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Singh
- Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, College of Education and Human Services, Murray State University , Murray, KY, USA
| | - Chia Jung Yeh
- Human Development and Family Science, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC, USA
| | - Nidhi Verma
- Department of Psychology, Kurukshetra University , Kurukshetra, India
| | - Ajay Kumar Das
- Department of Adolescent, Career and Special Education, Murray State University , Murray, KY, USA
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Shang CY, Gau SS. Visual memory as a potential cognitive endophenotype of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Psychol Med 2011; 41:2603-2614. [PMID: 21733210 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291711000857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Executive functions have been proposed as endophenotypes for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, data regarding visual memory are lacking. We therefore assessed visual memory in adolescents with ADHD and their unaffected siblings compared with controls. METHOD The participants included 279 adolescents with ADHD, 108 unaffected siblings, and 173 unaffected school controls. They were assessed by using the visual memory tasks of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB): Delayed Matching to Sample (DMS), Spatial Recognition Memory (SRM), Paired Associates Learning (PAL), and Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM). RESULTS Compared with the controls, probands with ADHD had a significantly lower number of correct responses, a higher probability of an error following a correct response and following an error response in the DMS, and a lower percentage of correct responses in the SRM. Their unaffected siblings occupied an intermediate position between ADHD probands and controls in the probability of an error following a correct response and following an error response in the DMS, and in the percentage of correct responses in the SRM. In general, lower IQ and current use of and duration of treatment with methylphenidate were associated with more severe visual memory deficits. CONCLUSIONS The present results suggest that ADHD is associated with poorer visual memory function. Visual memory assessed by the DMS and SRM tasks in the CANTAB may be a useful endophenotype for ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Y Shang
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Coghill D, Banaschewski T. The genetics of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Expert Rev Neurother 2009; 9:1547-65. [PMID: 19831843 DOI: 10.1586/ern.09.78] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that almost certainly represents the common outcome of multiple causal pathways and it is now generally accepted that genetic factors make a significant contribution to these pathways. Behavioral studies suggest a heritability of approximately 0.76. While molecular genetic approaches have identified a range of potential candidate genes, it is now clear that the genetics of ADHD are characterized by a number of genes each of which makes a small but significant contribution to the overall risk. Several genome-wide linkage studies have been conducted and, although there are considerable differences in findings between studies, several regions have been supported across several studies (bin 16.4, 5p13, 11q22-25, 17p11). The contribution of several candidate genes has been supported by meta-analyses (DRD4, DRD5, DAT1, HTR1B and SNAP25). Genome-wide association scans are starting to appear but have not yet had sufficient power to produce conclusive results. Gene-environment interactions, which are as yet relatively understudied, are likely to be of importance in fully understanding the role of genes in ADHD and will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Coghill
- Centre for Neuroscience, Division of Medical Sciences, University of Dundee, Centre for Child Health, 19 Dudhope Terrace, Dundee, DD3 6HH, UK.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE Attention-deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a frequent mental disorder with onset in childhood and persistence into adulthood in a sizeable number of people. Despite a rather simple clinical definition, ADHD has many facets because of frequent co-morbid disorders and varying impact on psychosocial functioning. Thus, there is considerable heterogeneity in various domains. METHOD A review of recent research findings in: i) selected domains of aetiology reflecting the role of genes, brain structures and functioning and the interplay of causal factors and ii) clinical heterogeneity in terms of co-morbidities, gender effects, courses and outcomes. RESULTS Molecular genetic studies have identified a number of candidate genes which have a small effect on behavioural variation in ADHD. In the most recent Genome Scan Meta Analysis of seven ADHD linkage studies, genome-wide significant linkage was identified on chromosome 16. The volume of both the total brain and various regions including the prefrontal cortex, the caudate nucleus and the vermis of the cerebellum is smaller in ADHD. Functional MRI has documented a specific deficit of frontostriatal networks in ADHD. Integrative aetiological models have to take the interaction of gene and environment on various dysfunctions into account. Clinical heterogeneity results from frequent associations with various co-morbidities, the impact of the disorder on psychosocial functioning, and gender effects. Partly, these effects are evident also in the course and outcome of ADHD. CONCLUSION ADHD is a chronic mental disorder with a complex aetiology. So far, various neurobiological factors have been identified that need to be studied further to better understand their interaction with environmental factors. The clinical presentation and the long-term course of ADHD are manifold.
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Affiliation(s)
- H-C Steinhausen
- Aalborg Psychiatric Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.
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Gizer IR, Ficks C, Waldman ID. Candidate gene studies of ADHD: a meta-analytic review. Hum Genet 2009; 126:51-90. [PMID: 19506906 DOI: 10.1007/s00439-009-0694-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 688] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2009] [Accepted: 05/27/2009] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ian R Gizer
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 120 Mason Farm Road, Room 5015 Genetic Medicine Building CB 7264, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7264, USA.
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Abstract
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, is a common and highly heritable neuropsychiatric disorder that is seen in children and adults. Although heritability is estimated at around 76%, it has been hard to find genes underlying the disorder. ADHD is a multifactorial disorder, in which many genes, all with a small effect, are thought to cause the disorder in the presence of unfavorable environmental conditions. Whole genome linkage analyses have not yet lead to the identification of genes for ADHD, and results of candidate gene-based association studies have been able to explain only a tiny part of the genetic contribution to disease, either. A novel way of performing hypothesis-free analysis of the genome suitable for the identification of disease risk genes of considerably smaller effect is the genome-wide association study (GWAS). So far, five GWAS have been performed on the diagnosis of ADHD and related phenotypes. Four of these are based on a sample set of 958 parent-child trio's collected as part of the International Multicentre ADHD Genetics (IMAGE) study and genotyped with funds from the Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN). The other is a pooled GWAS including adult patients with ADHD and controls. None of the papers reports any associations that are formally genome-wide significant after correction for multiple testing. There is also very limited overlap between studies, apart from an association with CDH13, which is reported in three of the studies. Little evidence supports an important role for the 'classic' ADHD genes, with possible exceptions for SLC9A9, NOS1 and CNR1. There is extensive overlap with findings from other psychiatric disorders. Though not genome-wide significant, findings from the individual studies converge to paint an interesting picture: whereas little evidence-as yet-points to a direct involvement of neurotransmitters (at least the classic dopaminergic, noradrenergic and serotonergic pathways) or regulators of neurotransmission, some suggestions are found for involvement of 'new' neurotransmission and cell-cell communication systems. A potential involvement of potassium channel subunits and regulators warrants further investigation. More basic processes also seem involved in ADHD, like cell division, adhesion (especially via cadherin and integrin systems), neuronal migration, and neuronal plasticity, as well as related transcription, cell polarity and extracellular matrix regulation, and cytoskeletal remodeling processes. In conclusion, the GWAS performed so far in ADHD, though far from conclusive, provide a first glimpse at genes for the disorder. Many more (much larger studies) will be needed. For this, collaboration between researchers as well as standardized protocols for phenotyping and DNA-collection will become increasingly important.
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Lasky-Su J, Anney RJ, Neale BM, Franke B, Zhou K, Maller JB, Vasquez AA, Chen W, Asherson P, Buitelaar J, Banaschewski T, Ebstein R, Gill M, Miranda A, Mulas F, Oades RD, Roeyers H, Rothenberger A, Sergeant J, Sonuga-Barke E, Steinhausen HC, Taylor E, Daly M, Laird N, Lange C, Faraone SV. Genome-wide association scan of the time to onset of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2008; 147B:1355-8. [PMID: 18937294 PMCID: PMC2605611 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.30869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
A time-to-onset analysis for family-based samples was performed on the genomewide association (GWAS) data for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to determine if associations exist with the age at onset of ADHD. The initial dataset consisted of 958 parent-offspring trios that were genotyped on the Perlegen 600,000 SNP array. After data cleaning procedures, 429,981 autosomal SNPs and 930 parent-offspring trios were used found suitable for use and a family-based logrank analysis was performed using that age at first ADHD symptoms as the quantitative trait of interest. No SNP achieved genome-wide significance, and the lowest P-values had a magnitude of 10(-7). Several SNPs among a pre-specified list of candidate genes had nominal associations including SLC9A9, DRD1, ADRB2, SLC6A3, NFIL3, ADRB1, SYT1, HTR2A, ARRB2, and CHRNA4. Of these findings SLC9A9 stood out as a promising candidate, with nominally significant SNPs in six distinct regions of the gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Lasky-Su
- Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Richard J.L. Anney
- Department of Psychiatry, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Benjamin M. Neale
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK,Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA,Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA,The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge Massachusetts, USA
| | - Barbara Franke
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands,Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Kaixin Zhou
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK
| | - Julian B. Maller
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alejandro Arias Vasquez
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands,Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Wai Chen
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK
| | - Philip Asherson
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK
| | - Jan Buitelaar
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Michael Gill
- Department of Psychiatry, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ana Miranda
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Valencia, Spain
| | - Fernando Mulas
- Department of Neuropaediatrics, La Fe University Hospital, Valencia, Spain
| | - Robert D. Oades
- University Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Essen, Germany
| | | | | | - Joseph Sergeant
- Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Edmund Sonuga-Barke
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK,School of Psychology, Institute for Disorder on Impulse and Attention, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK,Child Study Center, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | | | - Eric Taylor
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK
| | - Mark Daly
- Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA,The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nan Laird
- Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Christoph Lange
- Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA,Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Stephen V. Faraone
- Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA,Department of Neuroscience, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The aim of this review is to describe the considerable advances in consolidating the empirical evidence on several key topics in the genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, namely the quantitative genetic studies of the nature of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and its comorbidities, the molecular genetic studies that show modest but consistent effects of specific genotypes, and the growing recognition of genotype by environment interaction. Such interactions are studied to explain what happens when individuals with a susceptible genotype are exposed to a particular environment. RECENT FINDINGS There have been a significant number of twin studies that have examined different models of the symptomatology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and how these symptoms are reported. Similarly, molecular genetic research is complicated by very different outcome measures, and study across the whole field is made more problematic by genotype by environment interaction effects. One of the most interesting areas of development is that of psychopharmacogenetics. SUMMARY Two key developments have been integrative models of the genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and brain structure, which may have implications for future attention deficit hyperactivity disorder subtyping, and collaboration. This is not just within attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as in the IMAGE study, but also across disciplines.
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Laird NM, Lange C. Family-based methods for linkage and association analysis. ADVANCES IN GENETICS 2008; 60:219-52. [PMID: 18358323 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2660(07)00410-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Traditional epidemiological study concepts such as case-control or cohort designs can be used in the design of genetic association studies, giving them a prominent role in genetic association analysis. A different class of designs based on related individuals, typically families, uses the concept of Mendelian transmission to achieve design-independent randomization, which permits the testing of linkage and association. Family-based designs require specialized analytic methods but they have distinct advantages: They are robust to confounding and variance inflation, which can arise in standard designs in the presence of population substructure; they test for both linkage and association; and they offer a natural solution to the multiple comparison problem. This chapter focuses on family-based designs. We describe some basic study designs as well as general approaches to analysis for qualitative, quantitative, and complex traits. Finally, we review available software.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan M Laird
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Yrigollen CM, Han SS, Kochetkova A, Babitz T, Chang JT, Volkmar FR, Leckman JF, Grigorenko EL. Genes controlling affiliative behavior as candidate genes for autism. Biol Psychiatry 2008; 63:911-6. [PMID: 18207134 PMCID: PMC2386897 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2007] [Revised: 11/08/2007] [Accepted: 11/09/2007] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders of complex etiology, with a recognized substantial contribution of heterogeneous genetic factors; one of the core features of ASD is a lack of affiliative behaviors. METHODS On the basis of the existing literature, in this study we examined the hypothesis of allelic associations between genetic variants in six genes involved in control of maternal and affiliative behaviors (OXT, OXTR, PRL, PRLR, DbetaH, and FOSB). One hundred and seventy-seven probands with ASD from 151 families (n = 527) were assessed with a set of related instruments capturing multiple facets of ASD. Multivariate and univariate phenotypes were constructed from these assessments and subjected to genetic linkage and association analyses with PBAT and FBAT software. RESULTS The resulting pattern of findings, in general, confirmed the hypotheses of the significance of the genes involved in the development of affiliative behaviors in the manifestation of ASD (p values ranging from .000005 to .05); statistically speaking, the strongest results were obtained for allelic associations with the PRL, PRLR, and OXTR genes. CONCLUSIONS These preliminary data provide additional support for the hypothesis that the allelic variants of genes necessary for the development of species-typical affiliative behaviors are associated with ASD. Independent replication of these findings is needed and studies of other genes associated with affiliative behaviors are indicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn M Yrigollen
- Department of Statistics, Department of Epidemiology and PublicHealth, Yale University, NewHaven, CT 06519-1124, USA
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