Dopamine transporter genotype influences the attention deficit in Korean boys with ADHD

Attention appears to be inheritable, stable and influenced by genetic factors. The use of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), as an endophenotypic measure, is valuable for genetic studies because it may show increased sensitivity to specific dimensions in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, few studies have been designed to examine the influence of the genotype on attention level measured by CPT in ADHD patients. This study examinee the difference between 10/10 and 10/* genotype in the attention deficits measured by the CPT in ADHD patients. Forty-four unrelated ADHD patients were recruited from the psychiatric outpatients' clinic at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. Two child psychiatrists made the diagnoses of ADHD using the DSM- IV diagnostic criteria. The genomic DNA was extracted from the blood, and analyzed to determine the genotype. A 40- base pair variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region was amplified. The attention deficits were measured by the test of variables of attention (T.O.V.A.). Between the 10/10 genotype and 10/* genotype, standard scores of the T.O.V.A were compared using a Mann-Whiney test. A comparison with the 10/10 genotype and 10/* genotype showed that those patients with the 10/10 genotype made less omission errors in the first quarter of the test (p < 0.05, by Mann-Whiney test). No significant differences were observed in the errors of commission, response time, variability. This study found that the 10/10 genotype made less omission errors on the T.O.V.A. This suggests that the dopamine transporter genotype influences the attention deficits measured by T.O.V.A.