PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J M Halperin

Publications and source records attributed to J M Halperin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Noradrenergic mechanisms in ADHD children with and without reading disabilities: a replication and extension.

OBJECTIVE: To examine noradrenergic (NA) function in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by replicating and expanding upon a previous finding that ADHD children with and without reading disabilities (RD) differ in plasma levels of the NA metabolite 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG). METHOD: Plasma levels of MHPG were compared in ADHD children who were subdivided on the basis of the presence or absence of RD. Subsequently, this replication sample was combined with a previously studied sample to further explore the relationship between plasma MHPG levels and measures of cognitive function in children with ADHD. RESULTS: Plasma levels of MHPG were significantly lower in ADHD children without RD, compared with those with RD, replicating a published finding. Analyses in the combined sample indicated that, among children with ADHD, plasma MHPG levels were inversely associated with measures of academic achievement and verbal processing, but not parent or teacher ratings of behavior or continuous performance test measures of attention and impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that children with ADHD are not homogeneous with regard to NA function and that neurochemical variation is closely associated with differences in clinical characteristics of the children.

Achievement↗
PubMed1995

Cognitive and molecular aspects of fragile X.

The relationships among parental origin of the fragile X gene, gene structure, and specific cognitive deficits were evaluated in nonretarded adult female fragile X carriers to determine whether: (1) origin influences gene structure and cognitive function, (2) mild cognitive impairments are associated with altered gene structure, and (3) specific cognitive domains are affected. Results indicated that 56% of women with maternally inherited, but none with paternally inherited, fragile X showed large genomic structural alterations and selective deficits on measures of visual attention. Thus, molecular status of the fragile X gene appears to be linked to parental origin and may selectively affect specific cognitive skills.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Impulsivity and the initiation of fights in children with disruptive behavior disorders.

This study examined whether children who initiate physical fights are impulsive as measured by a continuous performance test. A series of 111 7-13-year-old psychiatric patients were diagnosed using DSM-III-R criteria and divided according to whether they showed a persistent pattern of initiating physical fights. Children who initiated fights were impulsive irrespective of whether ADHD was present or not, although ADHD was also associated with increased impulsivity. Oppositional-defiant disorder and conduct disorder diagnoses were not associated with impulsivity. These findings are discussed in terms of an underlying impulsive personality trait and its possible relationship to outcome in children with disruptive behavior disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Serotonergic function in aggressive and nonaggressive boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to assess central serotonergic (5-HT) function in aggressive and nonaggressive boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. METHOD: Prolactin response to a challenge dose of the 5-HT agonist d,l-fenfluramine was assessed in 25 7-11-year-old boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who were divided into aggressive and nonaggressive subgroups. In addition, the subgroups were compared on plasma catecholamine metabolites and platelet 5-HT. RESULTS: The aggressive group had a significantly greater prolactin response to the fenfluramine challenge than the nonaggressive subgroup. The groups did not differ on peripheral measures of neurotransmitter function. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that aggressive and nonaggressive children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder differ in central 5-HT functioning.

Aggression↗
PubMed1994

Parent and teacher ratings of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms: implications for case identification.

This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between the DSM-III criteria for attention-deficit deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH) and the DSM-III-R criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Seventy-two children from an inner-city elementary school were evaluated using parent and teacher ratings on a scale consisting of the symptoms of DSM-III-R ADHD and oppositional-defiant disorder and DSM-III ADDH. Each child was also assessed using a psychometric test battery designed to examine cognitive function, attention, and activity level. Teacher ratings identified more children as DSM-III-R ADHD than DSM-III ADDH. Among these ADHD children, those who also met the ADDH criteria missed more targets on a continuous performance test (CPT) and were rated more overactive than controls. They also had a greater likelihood of being rated ADHD by parents. Children rated as meeting criteria for DSM-III-R ADHD, but not DSM-III ADDH, were not substantially different from controls on teacher ratings of overactivity, CPT performance, or parent ratings of ADHD, which raises questions regarding the nature and severity of the pathology in this group.

Attention↗
PubMed1993

The factor structure of ADHD items in DSM-III-R: internal consistency and external validation.

Previous research employing factor-analytic procedures to study the underlying dimensions of DSM-III attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH) symptoms have consistently supported a two-factor model. Revision of the structure of the ADHD diagnosis in DSM-III-R, as well as inclusion of new items, has raised the question of comparability of the two diagnoses. To explore the significance of these changes, teacher ratings of DSM-III ADDH items and DSM-III-R ADHD items of 85 nonreferred school children were factor-analyzed to determine their underlying factor structures. A similar two-factor solution was obtained for each diagnostic scale. The factors consisted of items believed to reflect inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity constructs. These factors were further evaluated against results of a cognitive test battery to ascertain whether objective, external validation could be demonstrated. The hyperactivity-impulsivity factor scores were related to continuous performance test measures of response inhibition, while inattention-disorganization factor scores were related to measures of attention and visual search. Implications for assessment and diagnosis of ADHD are discussed.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1993

Discriminant validity of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The primary purpose of this study was to assess the discriminant validity of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) relative to well-defined groups of children with other psychiatric disorders. METHOD: Clinic-referred patients diagnosed as having ADHD without any other comorbid diagnosis (N = 13), were compared with patients with only anxiety disorders (N = 20), disruptive disorders other than ADHD (N = 15), and nonreferred controls (N = 18) on measures of cognitive and academic functioning, as well as on objective measures of attention, impulse control, and activity level. RESULTS: All three patient groups were found to have cognitive and academic achievement difficulties relative to controls. However, the ADHD group was found to be inattentive and impulsive relative to the other patient groups and the nonreferred controls. Objective measurement of activity level distinguished the ADHD group from controls but not from the other two patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the diagnostic validity of a small subgroup of ADHD children (i.e., those without comorbid diagnoses) and demonstrates, that as a group, these children can be distinguished from patients with anxiety as well as other disruptive disorders on objective test measures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Specificity of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity to the diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were compared with non-ADHD psychiatric patients and normal controls on objective measures of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity to determine the specificity of these symptoms to ADHD. Inattention and impulsivity were assessed using a continuous performance test, and activity was measured using solid state actigraphs. Both patient groups were inattentive relative to normals, but were indistinguishable from each other. However, the ADHD group was more active than both non-ADHD patients and normals, who did not differ from each other. These data suggest that inattention may be a nonspecific symptom of child psychiatric disorder. However, ADHD may be uniquely characterized by overactivity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Methylphenidate response in aggressive and nonaggressive ADHD children: distinctions on laboratory measures of symptoms.

Response to a single, 5-mg dose of methylphenidate was compared in aggressive and nonaggressive attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children using objective measures of inattention, impulsivity, and activity level. After medication, both ADHD groups had a significant decrease in inattention, whereas impulsivity remained unchanged. Activity level decreased only in the nonaggressive ADHD group. Unmedicated normal controls showed no change on any measure. These results support the hypothesis that aggressive and nonaggressive ADHD children have somewhat different underlying determinants for some of their symptoms. In addition, they suggest that inattention, impulsivity, and overactivity may be mediated by partially distinct neural mechanisms.

Aggression↗
PubMed1992

Psychometric differentiation of conduct disorder and attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.

Using a retrospective chart review procedure, children diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH), conduct disorder (CD), and ADDH+CD, as defined by DSM-III, were compared on measures of cognitive and academic functioning as well as on a continuous performance test (CPT). The groups did not differ in age or IQ, but children in the ADDH and ADDH+CD groups missed significantly more target stimuli on the CPT and performed significantly poorer on measures of academic achievement than did the pure CD group. However, poor CPT performance was not accounted for by learning problems. These findings in clinically referred patient groups are consistent with dimensional and epidemiological studies that suggest that ADDH may be a cognitively based disorder, whereas CD children are characterized by behavioral symptoms with fewer cognitive and learning deficits.

Attention↗
PubMed1990

Inattentive and noninattentive ADHD children: do they constitute a unitary group?

Teacher-rated ADHD and normal control children were administered a continuous performance test (CPT), and were then further subdivided based upon the presence or absence of objectively assessed attentional deficits. In addition, children were assessed using several measures of cognitive and behavioral functioning. Attentional deficits were significantly more prevalent among the ADHD group, but about half of the ADHD children showed no evidence of objectively assessed attentional dysfunction. Further group analyses indicated that ADHD children with objectively assessed attentional dysfunction appeared cognitively impaired, while ADHD children without objective evidence of attentional dysfunction had more conduct problems. CPT inattention was not related to the presence of cognitive impairments or conduct problems in the control group. These data must be considered preliminary because teacher ratings were the only source of diagnosis and a single measure of inattention was used. However, they suggest that two subtypes of ADHD children can be identified, one characterized by inattention and learning problems, and the other by conduct problems.

Achievement↗
PubMed1990

Validation of hyperactive, aggressive, and mixed hyperactive/aggressive childhood disorders: a research note.

Eighty-five non-referred school children were divided into four groups based upon the IOWA Conners Teacher's Questionnaire: pure hyperactive (HYP), pure aggressive (AGG), mixed hyperactive/aggressive (HYP/AGG), and normal controls. The groups were compared on neurobehavioral tests believed to assess inattention and impulsivity. A continuous performance test indicated that the HYP group was more inattentive than the other groups and the HYP/AGG group was most impulsive. The AGG group did not differ from controls. The data support the distinction between HYP, AGG and HYP/AGG groups of children selected by the IOWA Conners.

Aggression↗
PubMed1989

Developmental aspects of linguistic and mnestic abilities in normal children.

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R), Boston Naming Test (BNT), Paired Associate Learning of the Wechsler Memory Scale (PAL), and verbal fluency tests were administered to 241 normal children aged 6-12 years. Normative data were compiled for the BNT, PAL, and verbal fluency tests. A Principal Components Factor Analysis with Varimax Rotation was conducted to determine whether the tests evaluated similar or differential functions. Three factors emerged, accounting for 67.7% of the variance: Factor 1 contained loadings from two semantic fluency measures (animals and food), Factor 2 contained the PPVT-R and the BNT, and Factor 3 contained two measures from the PAL (easy and hard associations). In children, the BNT relates more to word knowledge than to retrieval or fluency, and verbal memory appears to be relatively independent of these linguistic functions.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Are ADDH and ADHD the same or different?

To assess the relationship between the DSM-III criteria for attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH) and the DSM-III-R criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), children from an inner city parochial school were evaluated using a 30-item teacher questionnaire consisting of the DMS-III and DSM-III-R criteria for these disorders, the revised Conners Parent and Teacher Questionnaires, and a continuous performance test. Diagnostic groups were established based on teacher ratings of the DSM items and evaluated in relation to the rating scale data and continuous performance test. While children who were identified by teachers as having ADDH almost always satisfied the criteria for ADHD, a new group of children who were hyperactive and impulsive but less clearly inattentive also met the criteria for ADHD. Implications of the change in diagnostic criteria are discussed.

Attention↗
PubMed1987

Birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome, and cognitive development. A four-year follow-up of preterm infants.

This study examined the relationship of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and birth weight to cognitive development in 30 white, middle-class, low-birth-weight, preterm infants. Cognitive ability was assessed at 12, 36, and 48 months of age. No significant difference was found at any age between children who had and did not have RDS during the neonatal period. Children with birth weights of 1500 g or less were found to have lower scores than those with birth weights greater than 1500 g in the first year of life. However, the difference diminished with increasing age.

Birth Weight↗