Tag Archive for 'Research'

ADHD in families

Published by JohnL on 18 April 2008 in ADHD, Causes, News and Research. 0 Comments

Dr. M. Romanos and colleagues examined the genetic make-up of several families and found that there are common elements that appear to be associated with ADHD. Although these findings point toward a genetic contribution to ADHD, it is important to note the caveat implied by the final sentence of the abstract: So many factors contribute to ADHD, that these results should not be construed as identifying the precise cause of the disorder. In the full article, the authors are circumspect about this: “The identification [in this study] of several novel linkage regions as well as replication of previously reported loci provides further evidence for the highly heterogeneous genetic etiology of ADHD.”

Genome-wide linkage analysis of ADHD using high-density SNP arrays: Novel loci at 5q13.1 and 14q12

M Romanos, C. Freitag, C. Jacob, D. W Craig, A. Dempfle, T. T. Nguyen, R. Halperin, S. Walitza, T. J Renner, C. Seitz, J. Romanos, H. Palmason, A. Reif, M. Heine, C. Windemuth-Kieselbach, C. Vogler, J. Sigmund, A. Warnke, H. Schäfer, J. Meyer, D. A. Stephan, & K. P. Lesch

Molecular Psychiatry (2008) 13, 522–530; doi:10.1038/mp.2008.12; published online 26 February 2008

Abstract

Previous genome-wide linkage studies applied the affected sib-pair design; one investigated extended pedigrees of a. genetic isolate. Here, results of a. genome-wide high-density linkage scan of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using an array-based genotyping of approx ~50 K. single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) markers are presented. We investigated eight extended pedigrees of German origin that were non-related, not part of a. genetic isolate and ascertained on the basis of clinical referral. Two parametric analyses maximizing LOD scores (MOD) and a. non-parametric analysis for both a. broad and a. narrow phenotype approach were conducted. Novel linkage loci across all families were detected at 2q35, 5q13.1, 6q22-23 and 14q12, within individual families at 18q11.2-12.3. Further linkage regions at 7q21.11, 9q22 and 16q24.1 in all families, and at 1q25.1, 1q25.3, 9q31.1-33.1, 9q33, 12p13.33, 15q11.2-13.3 and 16p12.3-12.2 in individual families replicate previous findings. High-resolution linkage mapping points to several novel candidate genes characterized by dense expression in the brain and potential impact on disorder-relevant synaptic transmission. Our study provides further evidence for common gene effects throughout different populations despite the complex multifactorial etiology of ADHD.

Posts from the West

Published by JohnL on 12 February 2008 in Comments, News and Research. 2 Comments

Last week, Liz Ditz teased us with notices about her whereabouts: She was attending an annual conference about brain research and learning. Don’t think I’ve flipped a wig; she wasn’t hearing the pablum that we usually get on this topic. This is a scholarly event, with presentations by eminent authorities (Is that redundant? Nope.) who are invited to discuss their work. I wrote to Liz that I envied her opportunity to attend.

Liz posted these entries: What I Am Doing This Week: Learning and the Brain Conference and Cognitive Neuroscience and Education: A Ways to Go. Go read them and then monitor her site for updates from her conference adventures. I shall do so, and mayhaps she’ll send LD Blog a heads up when there are going to be new entries!

FCRR dyslexia document

Published by JohnL on 10 February 2008 in Administration, Dyslexia, Families, News, Policy and Research. 2 Comments

Joe Torgesen, Barbara Foorman, and Richard Wagner of the Florida Center for Reading Research published an excellent overview of dyslexia that is readily available for public download. Although the title, “Dyslexia: A Brief for Educators, Parents, and Legislators in Florida,” makes it sound as if it is only applicable to people in a specific geographical area bounded by arbitrary marks on maps, this paper will be useful to millions of people.

In the document, Torgesen and his eminent colleagues address questions such as these: What is Dyslexia? What type of instruction is most effective for students with dyslexia? and Can reading difficulties in dyslexic students be prevented? How effective is remedial instruction for older students with dyslexia? The writing is clear as well as clearly well-informed.

This document will be valuable to people in PreK-12 schools, students studying education and the professors who should be teaching them the contents of the document; parents who are seeking straight talk with the authority of firm scientific underpinnings; and advocates who can benefit by distributing a tightly reasoned and written document to help explain concepts to constituents.

Snag a free copy from the Florida Center for Reading Research.

NLP bunk

Published by JohnL on 1 April 2007 in ADHD, Comments, Families, News and Research. 10 Comments

When confronted with Don A. Blackerby, whose Web site says he’s “recognized as the foremost Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) authority on Learning Disabilities, including Attention Deficit Disorder”; Shannon Sumrall of Advanced Behavioral Consultants who wrote “Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Education“; and Gordon Dryden and Jeannette Vos, who have a book called The Learning Revolution that incorporates NLP to fix just about anything, it is a pleasure to know that there are senisble folks like Steven Novella in the neighborhood. Dr. Novella, who’s an academic neurologist at Yale and a principal element in the New England Skeptics Society, published a sensible commentary on NLP that I strongly encourage readers to review. He goes well beyond debunking the woo (did I spell that correctly, Liz?) and discusses why NLP persists and what it will take to make the world safe from such nonsense.

This is not an April Fools’ Day post.

NPR Morning Edition on Mel Levine

Published by JohnL on 24 January 2005 in Comments, News, Research and The Press. 1 Comment

National Public Radio’s Morning Edition aired a report by Margo Adler about Mel Levine on Monday 24 January 2005. An audio account of the story as well as related materials is available from the ME site, so I shan’t recount it in detail here.

I was intrigued by Adler’s note about Levine’s critics. She reported that Levine’s methods have been criticized for having only anecdotal evidence of benefits, without peer-reviewed research. Levine responded (I’m working from memory here, paraphrasing) that researchers work on topics that are too narrow, that research isn’t likely to affect policy, and that he’s interested in promoting a humanitarian movement. That’s a topic for a later posting, but the gist of it will be “Bologna!”