Identifying mechanisms that underlie links between COMT genotype and aggression in male adolescents with ADHD.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There is a known strong genetic contribution to aggression in those with ADHD. In a previous investigation of a large population cohort, impaired 'emotional/social cognitive' processing, assessed by questionnaire, was observed to mediate the link between COMT Val158Met and aggression in individuals with ADHD. We set out to replicate and extend this finding in a clinical sample, using task-based and physiological assessments of emotional and cognitive processing. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that directly assessed emotional processing mediates the link between COMT Val158Met and aggression in young people with ADHD.

Methods

Males aged 10-17 years with ADHD were recruited from UK community clinics (n = 194). Research diagnostic interviews (parent and child) we

SUBMITTER: van Goozen SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5102627 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature