ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to investigate the association between the DRD4 genotype and auditory P300 amplitudes in a high-risk community sample. METHODS: ERPs were elicited in 197 eight-year-olds (98 boys, 99 girls) using a passive and an active oddball task. Auditory stimuli of 60 dB HL were presented binaurally at 1000 (standard stimulus) and 2000 Hz (target stimulus), at a relative frequency ratio of 80:20. Two trial blocks of 250 stimuli each were collected. P300 amplitudes were analyzed from Fz, Cz and Pz. DNA was genotyped for the DRD4 exon III polymorphism. RESULTS: A pattern of significant interactions of the DRD4 genotype with gender and experimental conditions was obtained. In both the active and the passive task, boys with at least one copy of the DRD4 7-repeat allele displayed significantly lower P300 amplitudes during the second trial block than boys carrying other alleles. CONCLUSIONS: This finding provides further evidence supporting a role of P300 amplitude reduction as an endophenotype for disinhibited psychopathology.
Subject(s)
Event-Related Potentials, P300/genetics , Polymorphism, Genetic/genetics , Receptors, Dopamine D4/genetics , Alleles , Child , DNA/genetics , Exons/genetics , Female , Genotype , Humans , Male , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
The objective of the present study was to examine gender differences in the influence of paternal alcoholism on children's social-emotional development and to determine whether paternal alcoholism is associated with a greater number of externalizing symptoms in the male offspring. From the Mannheim Study of Risk Children, an ongoing longitudinal study of a high-risk population, the developmental data of 219 children [193 (95 boys and 98 girls) of non-alcoholic fathers, non-COAs, and 26 (14 boys, 12 girls) of alcoholic fathers, COAs] were analyzed from birth to the age of 11 years. Paternal alcoholism was defined according to the ICD-10 categories of alcohol dependence and harmful use. Socio-demographic data, cognitive development, number and severity of behavior problems, and gender-related differences in the rates of externalizing and internalizing symptoms were assessed using standardized instruments (IQ tests, Child Behavior Checklist questionnaire and diagnostic interviews). The general linear model analysis revealed a significant overall effect of paternal alcoholism on the number of child psychiatric problems (F = 21.872, d.f. = 1.217, P < 0.001). Beginning at age 2, significantly higher numbers of externalizing symptoms were observed among COAs. In female COAs, a pattern similar to that of the male COAs emerged, with the predominance of delinquent and aggressive behavior. Unlike male COAs, females showed an increase of internalizing symptoms up to age 11 years. Of these, somatic complaints revealed the strongest discriminating effect in 11-year-old females. Children of alcoholic fathers are at high risk for psychopathology. Gender-related differences seem to exist and may contribute to different phenotypes during development from early childhood to adolescence.
Subject(s)
Alcoholism/psychology , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Child of Impaired Parents/psychology , Father-Child Relations , Internal-External Control , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Epidemiologic Methods , Female , Humans , Male , Personality Development , Phenotype , Sex Factors , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
The objective of the present study was to examine gender differences in the influence of paternal alcoholism on children's social-emotional development and to determine whether paternal alcoholism is associated with a greater number of externalizing symptoms in the male offspring. From the Mannheim Study of Risk Children, an ongoing longitudinal study of a high-risk population, the developmental data of 219 children [193 (95 boys and 98 girls) of non-alcoholic fathers, non-COAs, and 26 (14 boys, 12 girls) of alcoholic fathers, COAs] were analyzed from birth to the age of 11 years. Paternal alcoholism was defined according to the ICD-10 categories of alcohol dependence and harmful use. Socio-demographic data, cognitive development, number and severity of behavior problems, and gender-related differences in the rates of externalizing and internalizing symptoms were assessed using standardized instruments (IQ tests, Child Behavior Checklist questionnaire and diagnostic interviews). The general linear model analysis revealed a significant overall effect of paternal alcoholism on the number of child psychiatric problems (F = 21.872, d.f. = 1.217, P < 0.001). Beginning at age 2, significantly higher numbers of externalizing symptoms were observed among COAs. In female COAs, a pattern similar to that of the male COAs emerged, with the predominance of delinquent and aggressive behavior. Unlike male COAs, females showed an increase of internalizing symptoms up to age 11 years. Of these, somatic complaints revealed the strongest discriminating effect in 11-year-old females. Children of alcoholic fathers are at high risk for psychopathology. Gender-related differences seem to exist and may contribute to different phenotypes during development from early childhood to adolescence.