Poor performance of fine motor activity among biological parents of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Ni Chun Hung; Shih-Hsien Lin; Mei Hung Chi; Chien-Ho Lin; Po See Chen; I Hui Lee; Kao Chin Chen; Yen Kuang Yang

doi:10.1016/j.kjms.2016.10.001

Poor performance of fine motor activity among biological parents of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 2016 Dec;32(12):630-633. doi: 10.1016/j.kjms.2016.10.001. Epub 2016 Oct 27.

Authors

Ni Chun Hung¹, Shih-Hsien Lin², Mei Hung Chi³, Chien-Ho Lin⁴, Po See Chen², I Hui Lee², Kao Chin Chen², Yen Kuang Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
² Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
³ Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Senior Citizen Service Management, College of Recreation and Health Management, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address: ykyang@mail.ncku.edu.tw.

PMID: 27914615
DOI: 10.1016/j.kjms.2016.10.001

Abstract

It has been proposed that the dopaminergic system and heritability may play roles in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We assessed the performance of healthy parents of children with ADHD in the finger tapping test (FTT) in this study, which is a reliable test and sensitive to central dopamine activity. A total of 16 parents of children with ADHD and 32 controls were enrolled. The FTT was conducted. The 16 healthy parents of children with ADHD exhibited a significantly poorer performance in the FTT, using the nondominant hand, than the 32 healthy controls. This finding indicated that poor motor function could be a potential characteristic in parents of offspring with ADHD.

Keywords: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); Dopamine; Endophenotype; Finger tapping test (FTT); Nondominant hand.

MeSH terms

Adult
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / physiopathology*
Case-Control Studies
Child
Demography
Female
Humans
Male
Motor Activity / physiology*
Parents*