Symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in down syndrome: Effects of the dopamine receptor D4 gene

Gina Marie Mason, Goffredina Spanó, Jamie Edgin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examined individual differences in ADHD symptoms and executive function (EF) in children with Down syndrome (DS) in relation to the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene, a gene often linked to ADHD in people without DS. Participants included 68 individuals with DS (7-21 years), assessed through laboratory tasks, caregiver reports, and experimenter ratings. Saliva samples were collected from the DS group and 66 children without DS to compare DRD4 allele distribution, showing no difference between the groups. When the sample with DS was stratified for ethnicity (n = 32), the DRD4 7-repeat allele significantly related to parent and experimenter ratings, but not to laboratory assessments. These results suggest that nontrisomy genetic factors may contribute to individual differences in ADHD symptoms in persons with DS.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)58-71
Number of pages14
JournalAmerican Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Volume120
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2015

Keywords

  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
  • Cognitive assessment
  • Dopamine
  • Down syndrome
  • Executive function
  • Intellectual disabilities
  • Trisomy 21

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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