Interacting Effects of the Dopamine Transporter Gene and Psychosocial Adversity on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms Among 15-Year-Olds From a High-Risk Community Sample

Abstract

These findings provide initial evidence that environmental risks as described by the Rutter Family Adversity Index moderate the impact of the DAT1 gene on ADHD symptoms, suggesting a DAT1 effect only in those individuals exposed to psychosocial adversity.

How Experience Gets Under the Skin to Create Gradients in Developmental Health

“…When early nurturant conditions were strong, there was no independent effect of the polymorphism. Gene-by-environment interactions predominate over gene-only effects in the function of the dopamine transporter gene and attention-deficit hyperactivity (62), in the association of genes mediating HPA axis function and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in adults (6), and in the expression of academic readiness for school (63). Interactions are not confined to conditions in the intimate environment.…”

DATby perceived MC interaction on human prefrontal activity and connectivity during emotion processing

“…Genotypes displayed Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium ( 2 ¼ 0.7, P ¼ 0.4). Because of the relatively small number of 9-repeat homozygous subjects and consistent with earlier studies as well as with the known distribution of these two alleles in the population (Szekeres et al, 2004;Bertolino et al, 2006;Gilbert et al, 2006;Scott et al, 2006;Laucht et al, 2007;Bertolino et al, 2008;Bertolino et al, 2009), we grouped all subjects carrying at least one 9-repeat allele (9-repeat carriers9-car, N ¼ 37) for further analyses.…”

Association between a SLC6A3 intron 8 VNTR functional polymorphism and ADHD in a Brazilian sample of adult patients

“…2 Research on gene and environment interaction has evidenced that the 6-repeat allele of the 30-bp VNTR polymorphism may moderate the impact of the SLC6A3/DAT1 on ADHD symptoms, suggesting that DAT1 would affect only those individuals exposed to psychosocial adversity. 6 A previous study that investigated the same polymorphism in a Brazilian sample compounded by children with ADHD observed no preferential transmission from parents to probands of any allele at the 3 region of the gene, including the VNTR of intron 8. 7 If confirmed by longitudinal studies, this differential association of genes with ADHD, in children and in adults, might imply that SLC6A3 plays a role in modulating the ADHD phenotype, rather than causing the disorder.…”