英文摘要 |
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood psychiatric disorder, and has significant influence on the academic performance, occupational function, and interpersonal relationship of individuals with this disorder. Because of the advancement in research on the molecular genetics and imaging medicine, we can explore the mechanisms underlying ADHD from behavioral phenotypes to endophenotypes and genotypes, which can enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology of ADHD. Researches on the neuropsychology have shown that impairments in response inhibition, working memory, delay aversion, visual memory, and time perception are associated with ADHD. In neurophysiology, previous studies have demonstrated abnormality in cerebral cortex, neural connectivity, and electrophysiology in the brain. The majority of neuroimaging studies have found abnormality in prefrontal lobe, striatum, and cerebellum. Researches on animal models have shown that behavioral symptoms of ADHD are related to dysfunction in monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) are the representative animal model for ADHD. Several methods have been used to detect the risk genes of ADHD, including association analysis, genome-wide scan, and copy number variation (CNV). Future studies with multidisciplinary approach are needed to integrate the results from neuropsychology, neurophysiology, neuroimaging, animal models, and genetics, and thus we are able to obtain more comprehensive understanding of the relationship among genotypes, endophenotypes, and behavioral phenotypes for ADHD. |