Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites, aggression, and impulsivity in disruptive behavior disorders of children and adolescents.
Cerebrospinal fluid levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, a metabolite of serotonin, were measured in relation to aggression, impulsivity, and social functioning in 29 children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders. The cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level was low compared with that of age-, sex-, and race-matched patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Within the disruptive group, significant negative correlations with age-corrected 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level were seen for the child's report of aggression toward people and the expressed emotionality of the child toward his or her mother; other correlations of age-corrected 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level with measures of aggression were in the expected negative direction but did not reach statistical significance. Impulsivity per se and socioenvironmental factors were not significantly related to cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentration.
National Institute of Mental Health, Child Psychiatry Branch, Bethesda, MD 20892.
M J
MJ
Kruesi
J L
JL
Rapoport
S
S
Hamburger
E
E
Hibbs
W Z
WZ
Potter
M
M
Lenane
G L
GL
Brown
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012917:Social Adjustment
D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid