Genetic linkage of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on chromosome 16p13, in a region implicated in autism.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in childhood and likely represents an extreme of normal behavior. ADHD significantly impacts learning in school-age children and leads to impaired functioning throughout the life span. There is strong evidence for a genetic etiology of the disorder, although putative alleles, principally in dopamine-related pathways suggested by candidate-gene studies, have very small effect sizes. We use affected-sib-pair analysis in 203 families to localize the first major susceptibility locus for ADHD to a 12-cM region on chromosome 16p13 (maximum LOD score 4.2; P=.000005), building upon an earlier genomewide scan of this disorder. The region overlaps that highlighted in three genome scans for autism, a disorder in which inattention and hyperactivity are common, and physically maps to a 7-Mb region on 16p13. These findings suggest that variations in a gene on 16p13 may contribute to common deficits found in both ADHD and autism.
Smalley
Susan L
SL
Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles 90024USA. ssmalley@mednet.ucla.edu
Kustanovich
Vlad
V
Minassian
Sonia L
SL
Stone
Jennifer L
JL
Ogdie
Matthew N
MN
McGough
James J
JJ
McCracken
James T
JT
MacPhie
I Laurence
IL
Francks
Clyde
C
Fisher
Simon E
SE
Cantor
Rita M
RM
Monaco
Anthony P
AP
Nelson
Stanley F
SF
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000235:genetics*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002885:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male