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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Insight from Quantitative Genetic Research

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Book cover Behavior Genetics of Psychopathology

Part of the book series: Advances in Behavior Genetics ((AIBG,volume 2))

Abstract

The last 20 years of twin studies have been almost unanimous in concluding that the heritability of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms is 60–80 %. The first section of this review focusses on how recent twin studies have moved beyond simple heritability estimation and shaped our conception of ADHD from a more translational perspective, giving insight into the aetiology of ADHD by gender and across the lifespan and into why the core behavioural domains of hyperactivity–impulsivity and inattentiveness covary with each other and with traits such as oppositional behaviour and intellectual ability. The next section discusses newer, emerging twin literature which investigates the aetiological architecture of the cognitive and brain processes in ADHD. The final section looks ahead to the future; similar to many complex traits, only a small amount of the heritable variance in ADHD has been accounted for, and a key research direction is to locate additional genes contributing to the development of ADHD symptoms. Together, this review argues that quantitative genetic findings are informative for practitioners aiming to understand the likely presentation of an individual with ADHD and their family members and for elucidating the genetic structure of finer phenotypes, which may help us delineate pathways from genes to disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Herman Pressler, Room E-517, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Alexis C. Frazier-Wood

  2. MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, DeCrespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK

    Anna S. Rommel & Jonna Kuntsi

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Correspondence to Alexis C. Frazier-Wood .

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  1. Department of Psychology and NeuroScience, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA

    Soo Hyun Rhee

  2. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of London, London, United Kingdom

    Angelica Ronald

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Frazier-Wood, A.C., Rommel, A.S., Kuntsi, J. (2014). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Insight from Quantitative Genetic Research. In: Rhee, S., Ronald, A. (eds) Behavior Genetics of Psychopathology. Advances in Behavior Genetics, vol 2. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9509-3_1

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