Longitudinal network model of the co-development of temperament, executive functioning, and psychopathology symptoms in youth with and without ADHD

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common, chronic, and impairing disorder, yet presentations of ADHD and clinical course are highly heterogeneous. Despite substantial research efforts, both (a) the secondary co-occurrence of ADHD and complicating additional clinical problems and (b) the developmental pathways leading toward or away from recovery through adolescence remain poorly understood. Resolving these requires accounting for transactional influences of a large number of features across development. Here, we applied a longitudinal cross-lagged panel network model to a multimodal, multilevel dataset in a well-characterized sample of 488 children (nADHD = 296) to test Research Domain Criteria initiative-inspired hypotheses about transdiagnostic risk. Network features included Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders symptoms, trait-based ratings of emotional functioning (temperament), and performance-based measures of cognition. Results confirmed that ADHD symptom domains, temperamental irritability, and working memory are independent transdiagnostic risk factors for psychopathology based on their direct associations with other features across time. ADHD symptoms and working memory each had direct, independent associations with depression. Results also demonstrated tightly linked co-development of ADHD symptoms and temperamental irritability, consistent with the possibility that this type of anger dysregulation is a core feature that is co-expressed as part of the ADHD phenotype for some children.

HiTOP Assessment of Externalizing Antagonism and Disinhibition

This article outlines the Phase 1 efforts of the HiTOP Measure Development group for externalizing constructs, which include disinhibited externalizing, antagonistic externalizing, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance use, and externalizing/maladaptive behaviors. We provide background on the constructs included and the process and issues involved in developing a measure for this diverse range of psychopathology symptoms, traits, and behaviors.

Declining Trajectories of Co-occurring Psychopathology Symptoms in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study

Objective: Our objective was to examine developmental trajectories of co-occurring psychopathology symptoms from childhood to young adulthood in individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and typically developing (TD) individuals.Method: We assessed co-occurring psychopathology symptoms in 61 individuals with ADHD, 26 with ASD, and 40 TD individuals at baseline (T1; Mage = 11.72, 64% boys), 2-year follow up (T2; Mage = 13.77), and 10-year follow up (T3; Mage = 21.35). We analyzed trajectories of internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and total problems with linear mixed models.Results: From T1 to T3, the ADHD group displayed a small decline in internalizing behaviors (d = −0.49) and large declines in externalizing behaviors (d = −0.78) and total problems (d = −0.71). The ASD group displayed large declines in internalizing behaviors (d = −0.79), externalizing behaviors (d = −0.80), and total problems (d = −0.89). From T1 to T2, the decline in externalizing behaviors and total problems were significantly smaller in the ADHD group compared with the ASD group. The ADHD and the ASD group displayed more co-occurring symptoms compared with the TD group at T3.Conclusion: Individuals with ADHD and ASD, respectively, displayed declines in co-occurring symptoms from childhood to young adulthood. Individuals with ASD displayed an earlier decline compared with individuals with ADHD. Compared with TD individuals, individuals with ADHD and ASD, respectively, continued to display elevated levels of co-occurring symptoms in young adulthood.

Do Leptin Play a Role in Metabolism–Related Psychopathological Symptoms?

Objectives: Leptin is a crucial regulator of energy balance and is associated with obesity. In recent years, it has also been recognized as involved in the psychopathological mechanism. Our study aimed to elucidate the relationships between serum leptin levels, body mass index (BMI), and psychopathology symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.Methods: A cross-sectional assessment of 324 inpatients with schizophrenia was conducted. Schizophrenia symptoms were measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Serum leptin levels were assessed by the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).Results: Significant differences in sex, BMI, and negative symptom subscale (PANSS-N) scores were found between the groups with high and low leptin levels in the study. Leptin levels were positively correlated with BMI (B = 2.322, t = 9.557, P < 0.001) and negatively correlated with PANSS-N scores (B = −0.303, t = −2.784, P = 0.006).Conclusions: Our results suggest that the increase in leptin levels is responsible for antipsychotic-induced weight gain and improved psychopathological symptoms.

Mapping brain-behavior space relationships along the psychosis spectrum

Difficulties in advancing effective patient-specific therapies for psychiatric disorders highlight a need to develop a stable neurobiologically grounded mapping between neural and symptom variation. This gap is particularly acute for psychosis-spectrum disorders (PSD). Here, in a sample of 436 PSD patients spanning several diagnoses, we derived and replicated a dimensionality-reduced symptom space across hallmark psychopathology symptoms and cognitive deficits. In turn, these symptom axes mapped onto distinct, reproducible brain maps. Critically, we found that multivariate brain-behavior mapping techniques (e.g. canonical correlation analysis) do not produce stable results with current sample sizes. However, we show that a univariate brain-behavioral space (BBS) can resolve stable individualized prediction. Finally, we show a proof-of-principle framework for relating personalized BBS metrics with molecular targets via serotonin and glutamate receptor manipulations and neural gene expression maps derived from the Allen Human Brain Atlas. Collectively, these results highlight a stable and data-driven BBS mapping across PSD, which offers an actionable path that can be iteratively optimized for personalized clinical biomarker endpoints.

Objectively measured sleep duration, sleep quality, and symptoms of psychopathology in the SIGMA cohort

While subjective measures have demonstrated an association between sleep duration, sleep quality, and symptoms of psychopathology in adolescents, findings from more reliable, objective measures remain limited. In this study, we investigate if objectively measured sleep duration and sleep quality are associated with symptoms of psychopathology in adolescents.Adolescents (N=558; 11-17 y) from the SIGMA cohort wore the Fitbit Charge 2 measuring sleep duration and sleep quality during 4-6 days. Participants completed the Brief Symptom Inventory-53, assessing symptoms of general psychopathology, depression, anxiety, and psychoticism. Sleep duration was not associated with symptoms of general psychopathology, depression, anxiety, and psychoticism in general population adolescents. Further, sleep quality was not associated with symptom levels of anxiety, and psychoticism, but small to negligible positive associations were found between sleep quality and general psychopathology and depression symptoms.Our non-significant findings converge with those of an increasing body of objectively measured sleep literature that does no find significant associations between sleep duration, sleep quality and psychopathology symptoms. Overall, our results suggest that associations between sleep duration and psychopathology symptoms in previous studies may be a function of the subjective, self-report nature of the employed measures, and do not generalize to objectively collected sleep data.