title: The role of the dopamine transporter (DAT) in the development of PTSD in preschool children.
abstract: Population-based association studies have supported the heritability of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study explored the influence of genetic variation in the dopamine transporter (DAT) 3' untranslated region variable number tandem repeat on the development of PTSD in preschool children exposed to Hurricane Katrina, diagnosed using a developmentally appropriate semistructured interview. A diagnosis according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition , (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994), total symptoms, and specifically Criterion D symptoms were significantly more likely to be found in children with the 9 allele. This study replicates a previous finding in adults with PTSD. The specificity of this finding to the increased arousal symptoms of Criterion D suggests that dopamine and the DAT allele may contribute to one heritable path in a multifinality model of the development of PTSD.
authors: Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. sdrury@tulane.edu
authors: Stacy S
authors: SS
authors: Drury
authors: Katherine P
authors: KP
authors: Theall
authors: Bronya J B
authors: BJ
authors: Keats
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Scheeringa
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics*; D000483:Alleles; D001143:Arousal / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D055820:New Orleans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010552:Personality Assessment; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins