New suggestive genetic loci and biological pathways for attention function in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Alemany S, Ribasés M, Vilor-Tejedor N, Bustamante M, Sánchez-Mora C, Bosch R, Richarte V, Cormand B et al.. American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, 2015-07-14
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Attention deficit is one of the core symptoms of the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the specific genetic variants that may be associated with attention function in adult ADHD remain largely unknown. The present study aimed to identifying SNPs associated with attention function in adult ADHD and tested whether these associations were enriched for specific biological pathways. Commissions, hit-reaction time (HRT), the standard error of HRT (HRTSE), and intraindividual coefficient variability (ICV) of the Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT-II) were assessed in 479 unmedicated adult ADHD individuals. A Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) was conducted for each outcome and, subsequently, gene set enrichment analyses were performed. Although no SNPs reached genome-wide significance (P < 5E-08), 27 loci showed suggestive evidence of association with the CPT outcomes (P < E-05). The most relevant associated SNP was located in the SORCS2 gene (P = 3.65E-07), previously associated with bipolar disorder (BP), Alzheimer disease (AD), and brain structure in elderly individuals. We detected other genes suggested to be involved in synaptic plasticity, cognitive function, neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, and smoking behavior such as NUAK1, FGF20, NETO1, BTBD9, DLG2, TOP3B, and CHRNB4. Also, several of the pathways nominally associated with the CPT outcomes are relevant for ADHD such as the ubiquitin proteasome, neurodegenerative disorders, axon guidance, and AD amyloid secretase pathways. To our knowledge, this is the first GWAS and pathway analysis of attention function in patients with persistent ADHD. Overall, our findings reinforce the conceptualization of attention function as a potential endophenotype for studying the molecular basis of adult ADHD. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Alemany, S., Ribasés, M., Vilor-Tejedor, N., Bustamante, M., Sánchez-Mora, C., Bosch, R., et al. (2015). New suggestive genetic loci and biological pathways for attention function in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.32341
Vancouver
Alemany S, Ribasés M, Vilor-Tejedor N, Bustamante M, Sánchez-Mora C, Bosch R, et al. New suggestive genetic loci and biological pathways for attention function in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. 2015. doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.32341. PMID: 26174813.
BibTeX
@article{alemany2015-26174813,
author = {Alemany, S. and Ribasés, M. and Vilor-Tejedor, N. and Bustamante, M. and Sánchez-Mora, C. and Bosch, R. and Richarte, V. and Cormand, B. and others},
title = {{New suggestive genetic loci and biological pathways for attention function in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder}},
journal = {American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1002/ajmg.b.32341},
pmid = {26174813},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.32341}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- However, the specific genetic variants that may be associated with attention function in adult ADHD remain largely unknown.
- The present study aimed to identifying SNPs associated with attention function in adult ADHD and tested whether these associations were enriched for specific biological pathways.
- The most relevant associated SNP was located in the SORCS2 gene (P = 3.65E-07), previously associated with bipolar disorder (BP), Alzheimer disease (AD), and brain structure in elderly individuals.
- Also, several of the pathways nominally associated with the CPT outcomes are relevant for ADHD such as the ubiquitin proteasome, neurodegenerative disorders, axon guidance, and AD amyloid secretase pathways.
- Overall, our findings reinforce the conceptualization of attention function as a potential endophenotype for studying the molecular basis of adult ADHD. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Why it matters
This genetic study of attention function in adults with ADHD found no variants reaching genome-wide significance, though one suggestive signal was in the SORCS2 gene, previously linked to Alzheimer disease among other conditions. The findings are preliminary and do not directly address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Genetics →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 41/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics: journal h-index 131 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 92 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.1 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 17 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Jordi Sunyer: h-index 148 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Universitat de Barcelona: institution h-index 1,049 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 13 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26174813) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 41 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32341
- PubMed: 26174813
- Original source →
- Free full text: onlinelibrary.wiley.com →
Full text: free to read — Unpaywall lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Related studies in Genetics
Also tagged “precursor”
1,337 studies in the library carry the topic tag “precursor”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,337 tagged studies.