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Other Psychopathology (other + psychopathology)
Selected AbstractsNeurophysiological and genetic distinctions between pure and comorbid anxiety disorders,DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 5 2008Mary-Anne Enoch M.D. Abstract Anxiety disorders are often comorbid with major depression (MD) and alcohol use disorders (AUD). Two common functional polymorphisms in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT Val158Met) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF Val66Met) genes have been implicated in the neurobiology of anxiety and depression. We hypothesized that attentional response and working memory (auditory P300 event-related potential and Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised digit symbol scores) as well as genetic vulnerability would differ between pure anxiety disorders and comorbid anxiety. Our study sample comprised 249 community-ascertained men and women with lifetime DSM-III-R diagnoses. We analyzed groups of participants with pure anxiety disorders, pure MD, pure AUD, comorbid anxiety, and no psychiatric disorder. Participants were well at the time of testing; state anxiety and depressed mood measures were at most only mildly elevated. Individuals with pure anxiety disorders had elevated P300 amplitudes (P=0.0004) and higher digit symbol scores (P<0.0001) compared with all the other groups. Individuals with comorbid anxiety had the greatest proportion of COMT Met158 and BDNF Met66 alleles (P=0.009) as well as higher harm avoidance-neuroticism (P<0.0005) than all other groups. Our results suggest that there may be two vulnerability factors for anxiety disorders with differing genetic susceptibility: (a) heightened attention and better working memory with mildly elevated anxiety-neuroticism, a constellation that may be protective against other psychopathology; and (b) poorer attention and working memory with greater anxiety-neuroticism, a constellation that may also increase vulnerability to AUD and MD. This refinement of the anxiety phenotype may have implications for therapeutic interventions. Depression and Anxiety 0:1,10, 2007. Published 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Initial Evidence of an Association Between OPRM1 and Adolescent Alcohol MisuseALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2010Robert Miranda Background:, Considerable research efforts have attempted to identify genes associated with alcoholism among adults, yet few studies have examined adolescents. Identifying genes associated with alcohol misuse in youth is important given that the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences on alcoholism varies across development. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between a polymorphism of the ,-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) and alcohol misuse in a sample of youth and to test whether heightened sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of alcohol mediated this relationship. Methods:, Adolescents (n = 187; mean age = 15.4 years; 47.6% female) were genotyped for A118G (rs1799971), a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the OPRM1 gene, and assessed for alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnoses and other psychopathology. Alcohol misuse was also measured continuously to maximize detection of drinking problems in youth. Drinking motives were used to capture the extent to which youth consumed alcohol to enhance positive affect. Results:, AUD groups differed significantly in terms of allelic distributions of the A118G SNP, such that 51.9% of youth with an AUD carried at least one copy of the G allele compared to 16.3% of non-AUD controls. Those who carried the G allele endorsed drinking to enhance positive affect more strongly than those who were homozygous for the A allele and drinking to enhance positive affect mediated the association between OPRM1 and alcohol-related problems. Conclusions:, These data build on findings from adult studies and provide the first evidence that a polymorphism of the OPRM1 receptor gene is associated with the development of early-onset alcohol-related problems during adolescence, in part, by heightening sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of alcohol. [source] Posttraumatic stress symptoms, coping, and physical health status among university students seeking health careJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 6 2005Casey Lawler This study examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, coping, and physical health status in students reporting a trauma history (N = 138) using structural equation modeling. Participants completed questionnaires assessing PTSD symptoms, coping specific to health-related and trauma-related stressors and physical health. After accounting for coping with health-specific problems, trauma-specific avoidance coping was uniquely associated with poorer health status. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were associated with poorer physical health status, controlling for age, health behaviors, and other psychopathology. In addition, the effect of PTSD symptoms on poorer health status was mediated by health- and trauma-specific avoidance coping. Results suggest that university health centers should screen for PTSD and consider psychoeducational programs and coping skills interventions for survivors of trauma. [source] Low- and high-level controlled processing in executive motor control tasks in 5,6-year-old children at risk of ADHDTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 7 2003Ariane C. Kalff Background: The scant research on the characteristics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in kindergarten years curtails progress on early assessment of ADHD. Method: By screening a general population sample of 1317 five- to six-year-old children, four groups of children were selected. The performance of 30 children later diagnosed with ADHD was compared with 74 children later diagnosed with ,borderline ADHD' (children exhibiting all ADHD symptoms but without disruptions on two situations), 113 children later diagnosed with other psychopathology, and 126 healthy controls on computerised motor control tasks involving low- and high-level controlled processing. In addition, motor control was compared with movement speed. Results: The children at risk of ADHD were in general less accurate and more variable in their movements than the children with other psychopathology and healthy controls. Under conditions of high-level controlled processing, the children at risk of ADHD were disproportionately more inaccurate and had a more unstable performance with their preferred hand than the other children. In addition, linear effects were found, with the children at risk of ADHD having the worst performance, followed by the children with ,borderline ADHD', and then both groups of control children. No significant group differences were found in movement speed. Conclusions: The main findings are interpreted as evidence for a specific deficit in high-level controlled processing in young children at risk of ADHD, now found in a motor task, rather than a response task. Furthermore, the results support the notion that ADHD represents a dimensional trait. In addition, problems in movement control (the need to allocate attentional capacity) rather than problems in movement speed distinguish children at risk of ADHD from other children. The findings are interpreted as evidence that higher-order executive processes, such as self-control and self-regulation, are already affected early in the development of ADHD. [source] | |||||||||||||