Citation

Schulz KP, Newcorn JH, McKay KE, Himelstein J, Koda VH, Siever LJ, Sharma V, Halperin JM. Psychiatry Res. 2001; 101(1): 1-10.

Affiliation

Neuropsychology Subprogram of the Ph.D. Program in Psychology, The Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, NY 10016, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11223114

Abstract

Data indicate that diminished central serotonergic (5-HT) function is related to aggression in adults, but discrepant findings in children suggest that age or the presence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may influence this relationship. This study examined whether age or ADHD affects the association between 5-HT and aggression in 7-11-year old clinically-referred boys. Forty-six boys were divided into non-aggressive ADHD, aggressive ADHD, and aggressive non-ADHD groups based on responses to interviews and ratings of behavior. Central 5-HT function was assessed by measuring the prolactin response to a 1-mg/kg oral dose of D,L-fenfluramine. There was no significant difference in the prolactin response across the three groups of boys. Furthermore, when examined dimensionally, prolactin response was largely unrelated to ratings of aggression, even after controlling for ADHD. Finally, age was not associated with prolactin response, and had no effect on the relationship between prolactin response and aggression. This study provides further evidence that there is no clear relationship between central 5-HT function and aggression in disruptive boys. Moreover, these data do not confirm the hypothesis that age or the presence of ADHD influence the relationship between 5-HT and childhood aggression.

Language: en