ADHD And Comorbidity: Implications For Clinical Practice And Molecular Genetics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$284,878.00
Summary
ADHD is emerging as the most common, controversial childhood behavioural problem. Previously we have shown that much of the confusion may lie in the fact that ADHD is inherited as a continuum throughout the entire population, only some people having such a strong genetic potential that they warrant the label ADHD. The threshold to achieve this label is partly a community one, leading to the argument over who should be labelled and treated. This grant goes further in examining the possibility tha ....ADHD is emerging as the most common, controversial childhood behavioural problem. Previously we have shown that much of the confusion may lie in the fact that ADHD is inherited as a continuum throughout the entire population, only some people having such a strong genetic potential that they warrant the label ADHD. The threshold to achieve this label is partly a community one, leading to the argument over who should be labelled and treated. This grant goes further in examining the possibility that there is more than one type of ADHD. Some ADHD children have other behavioural problems such as conduct disorder or learning problems. Some have problems throughout their lives while others grow out of it. In Australia we are unique in having developed the most extensive twin databases world-wide and have already studied aspects of ADHD both in the children and their parents. In this grant we shall explore whether there are distinct genetic types of ADHD, characterised not just by their ADHD symptoms but also by the other behavioural problems they experience and by what happens as they grow-up. Such information is invaluable in developing a treatment program dealing with all aspects of the ADHD and also addresses the question of what will happen as they get older. No other study internationally has such extensive data to address these key questions., vital both to clinicians and families. Given the significant genetic component to ADHD, the next possibility is to find the genes involved in the different types. Knowing what these genes do may help in the development of medications more targeted to specific patterns of problems. Recently genes have been identified which may be involved in specific types of ADHD, as well as genes involved in associated problems such as reading disability and substance abuse. This study offers the potential to clearly identify the role of these genes and so assist in improved diagnosis and treatment interventions.Read moreRead less
Developmental Changes In Cerebral Oxygenation After Term And Preterm Birth
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$445,306.00
Summary
Approximately 10% of all births are preterm and the numbers of infants surviving are increasing. We have previously found that infants born preterm have lower blood pressure over the first 6 months after term equivalent age than infants born at term. We will use new technology to examine how preterm birth affects brain oxygenation and how this is altered with gestational age, sleep states and sleeping position, to provide insights into their increased risk for SIDS.
The Development, Assessment And Treatment Of Early Indicators Of Psychopathy In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$271,130.00
Summary
2.7 Significance - Lay description Conduct problems and antisocial behaviour cost Australian society millions of dollars every year directly through the mental health and criminal justice systems, indirectly through their association with substance abuse and other mental health problems, and associated disruptions to health, relationships, and personal and occupational functioning. Remediation is not effective once a chronic pattern has been established. Recently, research has shown that early s ....2.7 Significance - Lay description Conduct problems and antisocial behaviour cost Australian society millions of dollars every year directly through the mental health and criminal justice systems, indirectly through their association with substance abuse and other mental health problems, and associated disruptions to health, relationships, and personal and occupational functioning. Remediation is not effective once a chronic pattern has been established. Recently, research has shown that early signs of psychopathy in children predict chronic antisocial behaviour and lack of responsiveness to traditional treatments. The current research uses a combination of experimental, longitudinal, and treatment outcome studies to examine: the effectiveness with which early signs of a callous-unemotional temperamental style, hypothesised to be an early indicator of psychopathy, can be measured in children, causal factors and correlates of callous-unemotional traits, whether such traits pose a risk for chronic antisocial behaviour, the effects of callous-unemotional traits on responsiveness to traditional family-school based treatments, and the effectiveness of an innovative method for treating it in the early years. The project leads directly to a range of clinical assessment and treatment strategies for children at risk for chronic antisocial behaviour. The project has the potential to substantially improve the effectiveness of current treatment approaches to conduct problems in children that focus on family and school management.Read moreRead less
Behavioural And Neuropsychiatric Aspects Of Transition To Severe Conduct Disorder In Adolescence.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$343,100.00
Summary
Conduct disorder represents an enormous cost to Australian society directly via the mental health and forensic systems, and indirect costs via its associations with other mental health problems, relationship problems, impaired social functioning, and substance use problems. Behavioural-family-based treatment have good success rates with young children with cooperative parents, however, there are a minority who progress to chronic problems despite this. Risk and resilience factors identifying chr ....Conduct disorder represents an enormous cost to Australian society directly via the mental health and forensic systems, and indirect costs via its associations with other mental health problems, relationship problems, impaired social functioning, and substance use problems. Behavioural-family-based treatment have good success rates with young children with cooperative parents, however, there are a minority who progress to chronic problems despite this. Risk and resilience factors identifying chronic patterns in early childhood are the key to early intervention. In previous research, this research team showed for the first time that callous-unemotional traits, a feature of chronic psychopathy, could be measured in children as young as 4 years, and was predictive of a range of negative outcomes. However, it was also found that the key neuropsychiatric markers characteristic of psychopathy, including reward dominance-punishment insensitivity and deficits in affective empathy, did not exist in conduct problem children prior to adolescence. Around the time of puberty, it appears that important changes occur in cognitive-affective processing styles that are associated with the adult form of psychopathy and antisocial behaviour. Thus, this research raises critical questions about the development of severe antisocial behaviour (or psychopathy) through the childhood to adolescent years. Our evidence indicates that early adolecence may be the period when intrapsychological characteristics representing chronic risk become concrete. The current research will be the first to map the development common neuropsychiatric markers (affective empathy, punishment insensitivity) of severe antisocial processes through the late childhood-adolescent period. The findings will have clear implications for models of antisocial behaviour and clinical approaches to working with conduct problem children and adolescents.Read moreRead less