• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.70-78
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• 2010

Objectives : This study investigated the differences of working memory among the subtypes of ADHD. Methods : Eighty-one children and adolescents with ADHD and thirty normal controls were recruited. Children with any cognitive disorders and low intelligence were excluded. In order to evaluate the verbal and visuospatial working memory, Digit span and Finger windows tasks were measured, respectively. Performances on these measures between children with ADHD and controls were compared. Further, performances among the groups of ADHD predominantly inattentive(ADHD-IA)(n=40), predominantly hyperactive-impulsive(ADHD-HI)(n= 10), and combined type(ADHD-C)(n=31), were compared. Results : Scores of Finger windows forward task were lower in the ADHD group as compared to the control group, whereas, the Digit span forward showed no difference. Both scores of Digit span backward and Finger windows backward task were lower in the ADHD group than the controls. Children with ADHD-IA performed poorer than children with ADHD-C on the Finger windows backward task. Conclusion : The results of this study showed that children with ADHD have deficits in spatial short-term memory and verbal and visuospatial working memory when compared to normal children. The deficits were evident in children with ADHD-IA subtype and in particular, performance on the visuospatial working memory task in this group was poorer than the ADHD-C group.

• Genes and Genomics
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.1309-1317
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• 2018

It is well known that dopaminergic genes affect the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in various populations. Many studies have shown that variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) located within the 3′-untranslated region of DAT1 and in exon 3 of DRD4 are associated with ADHD development; however, these results were inconsistent. Therefore, we investigated the genetic association between two VNTRs and ADHD in Korean children. We determined the VNTRs using PCR. We examined genotype and allele frequency differences between the experimental and control groups, along with the odds ratios, using Chi square and exact tests. We observed a significant association between the children with ADHD and the control group in the 10R/10R genotype of DAT1 VNTRs (p=0.025). In addition, the 11R allele of DAT1 VNTRs showed a higher frequency in the control group than in the ADHD group (p=0.023). Also, the short repeat (without 11R) and long repeat alleles (including 11R) were associated with ADHD (p<0.05). The analysis of DRD4 VNTRs revealed that the 2R allele is associated with ADHD (p=0.025). A significant result was also observed in long and short repeats (p<0.05). Additionally, ADHD subtypes showed that the DRD4 VNTRs are associated with combined and hyperactive-impulsive subtype groups (p<0.05). Therefore, our results suggest that DAT1 VNTRs and DRD4 VNTRs play a role in the genetic etiology of ADHD in Korean children.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.141-149
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• 1994

The prevalence rates of disruptive behavior disorders(attention deficit hyperactive disorder, conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, ADHD, CD and ODD respectively) were studied in 780 elementary school children from 4th to 6th grades. The results are summarized as follows : 1) The prevalences rates of ADHD were in boys 10.3%(45/436), 4.1%(14/344) in girls and the overall prevalence rate was 7.6%(59/780). 2) The prevalence rates of CD were 5.0%(22/436) in boys, 2.3%(8/344) in girls and the overall prevalence rate was 3.8%(30/780). 3) The prevalence rates of ODD were 5.7%(25/436) in boys, 2.3%(8/344) in girls and the overall prevalence rate was 4.2%(33/780). 4) These three disorders were significantly more common in boys than in girls. 5) There were no significant differences in the prevalence rates of ADHD, CD and ODD by grades or urban-rural status. 6) The comorbidity of ADHD was also explored, 3.5% (2/59) of ADHD also had CD, 13.6% (8/59) had both CD and ODD. 7) The mild forms of these three disorders were about two times more common than typical forms.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.84-96
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• 1992

The present study was designed to investigate variables associated with mother-child interaction patterns of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), and also to evaluate short-term effects of stimulant medication on the behaviors of ADHD children and their mothers during interaction. 15 ADHD boys(ages 5${\sim}$10 years) were treated with metylphenidate(0.5mg/kg per day) for 1 month, and their behaviors as well as their mothers for the 10 minute free play and 20 minute task performance period were videotaped through one-way mirror. The childrens attention was also evaluated using the Continuous Performance Task(CPT) and ratings of their hyperactive behaviors were obtained from their mother prior to the treatment. The videotaped interaction were rated according to the Response Class Matrix developed by Mash, Terdal & Anderson(1973). Results indicated that percentage of behavior of the mother and child during interaction was highly correlated with each other, which, in turn, was highly correlated with the symptom severity of the ADHD child. That is the more severe the cognitive and behavioral symptoms of ADHD, the more negative the interaction behavior pattern was. After 4 weeks of stimulant medication the mothers as well as the ADHD children showed a significant decrease in the percentage of negative-aggressive behavior during the task performance period. The results indicated that negative interaction behavior of the mothers was in large part a response to the negative behavior of their ADHD children.