Predicting ADHD Symptoms in Adolescence from Early Childhood Temperament Traits.

Extreme levels of certain temperament traits can be early markers of different developmental pathways of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the long-term utility of using these traits as predictors of ADHD is not fully known. This study includes 64 male adolescents (M age = 13.

[DSM-5 AND AUTISM: DIAGNOSTIC CHANGES AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD].

Autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by significant disability in interpersonal communication, social interactions and patterns of unusual behavior. In recent decades the worldwide prevalence of ASDs is rising almost exponentially, without a clear known etiological explanation. Until recently, ASDs were defined by the American Manual of Psychiatric Diagnoses: The DSM-IV-TR, under one conceptual umbrella of "Pervasive Developmental Disorders" (PDD).

Dopamine risk and paternal ADHD symptomatology associated with ADHD symptoms in four and a half-year-old boys.

Objective: This study examined the influence of allelic variation in two dopamine genes, the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene and the dopamine transporter D1 (DAT1) gene, and paternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology on the level of ADHD symptoms in 96 four and a half-year-old boys.

Method: DNA was collected by means of a buccal swab and genotyped for DRD4 and DAT1. Mothers completed the Dupaul ADHD checklist on their sons.

Parenting of 7-month-old infants at familial risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Patterns of interaction between parents and 7-month-old boys at familial risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a comparison group were studied during a warm-up and two play episodes. The sample included 78 (47 at-risk, 31 comparison) mother-child and 45 (27 at-risk, 18 comparison) father-child dyads. A coding system developed by G.

Relation of shyness in grade school children to the genotype for the long form of the serotonin transporter promoter region polymorphism.

Objective: Studies have shown that genetic factors are significant in predisposing individuals to shyness and social phobia. Toward further elucidating the genetic structure of shyness, the authors examined four functional polymorphisms that make biological sense for contributing to the development of this phenotype: serotonin transporter promoter region 44 base pair insertion/deletion (5-HTTLPR), dopamine D(4) receptor exon III repeat (DRD4), catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT), and monoamine oxidase A promoter region repeat (MAO(A)).

Method: The authors assessed shyness after recruitment of a nonclinical sample (N=118, unscreened second-grade children) using a composite scale derived from questionnaires administered to the children, parents, and teachers.