Association of high reaction time variability with the 7-repeat allele absence appears to be the most consistent result and seems to be specific to ADHD .
Speed of processing , set-shifting and cognitive impulsiveness were less frequently investigated but seem to be altered in the 7-repeat allele carriers .
High reaction time variability seems to be the most replicated cognitive marker associated with the 10-repeat homozygosity .
BACKGROUND We review ed systematic ally the results of genetic studies investigating associations between putative susceptibility genes for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) and neuropsychological traits relevant for this disorder .
Absence of the 7‐repeat variant of the DRD4 VNTR is associated with drifting sustained attention in children with ADHD but not in controls
Many genetic studies have demonstrated an association between the 7‐repeat ( 7r ) allele of a 48‐base pair variable number of t and em repeats ( VNTR ) in exon 3 of the DRD4 gene and the phenotype of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) . Previous studies have shown inconsistent associations between the 7r allele and neurocognitive performance in children with ADHD . We investigated the performance of 128 children with and without ADHD on the Fixed and R and om versions of the Sustained Attention to Response Task ( SART ) . We employed time‐series analyses of reaction‐time data to allow a fine‐grained analysis of reaction time variability , a c and i date endophenotype for ADHD . Children were grouped into either the 7r‐present group ( possessing at least one copy of the 7r allele ) or the 7r‐absent group . The ADHD group made significantly more commission errors and was significantly more variable in RT in terms of fast moment‐to‐moment variability than the control group , but no effect of genotype was found on these measures . Children with ADHD without the 7r allele made significantly more omission errors , were significantly more variable in the slow frequency domain and showed less sensitivity to the signal ( d ' ) than those children with ADHD the 7r and control children with or without the 7r . These results highlight the utility of time‐series analyses of reaction time data for delineating the neuropsychological deficits associated with ADHD and the DRD4 VNTR . Absence of the 7‐repeat allele in children with ADHD is associated with a neurocognitive profile of drifting sustained attention that gives rise to variable and inconsistent performance . © 2008 Wiley‐Liss ,
Association of high reaction time variability with the 7-repeat allele absence appears to be the most consistent result and seems to be specific to ADHD .
Speed of processing , set-shifting and cognitive impulsiveness were less frequently investigated but seem to be altered in the 7-repeat allele carriers .
High reaction time variability seems to be the most replicated cognitive marker associated with the 10-repeat homozygosity .
BACKGROUND We review ed systematic ally the results of genetic studies investigating associations between putative susceptibility genes for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) and neuropsychological traits relevant for this disorder .