Relationship between central serotonergic function and aggression in prepubertal boys: effect of age and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

• Published in: Psychiatry research Vol. 101; no. 1; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: Schulz, Kurt P., Newcorn, Jeffrey H., McKay, Kathleen E., Himelstein, Jessica, Koda, Vivian H., Siever, Larry J., Sharma, Vanshdeep, Halperin, Jeffrey M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 14-02-2001; Elsevier
• Subjects: ADHD; Age; Age Factors; Aggression; Aggression - physiology; Aggression - psychology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit disorders. Hyperactivity; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child clinical studies; Fenfluramine; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Prolactin; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Serotonin; Serotonin - physiology; ADHD; Fenfluramine; Serotonin; Aggression; Prolactin; Age; Human; Amphetamine derivatives; Agonist; Serotoninergic transmission; Hyperactivity; Male; Serotonine receptor; Serotonin agonist; Protein hormone; School age; Attentional disorder; Adenohypophyseal hormone; Prepuberty; Child; Comparative study; Aggressiveness
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/S0165-1781(00)00238-9

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.