Behavioural And Neuropsychiatric Aspects Of Transition To Severe Conduct Disorder In Adolescence.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$343,100.00
Summary
Conduct disorder represents an enormous cost to Australian society directly via the mental health and forensic systems, and indirect costs via its associations with other mental health problems, relationship problems, impaired social functioning, and substance use problems. Behavioural-family-based treatment have good success rates with young children with cooperative parents, however, there are a minority who progress to chronic problems despite this. Risk and resilience factors identifying chr ....Conduct disorder represents an enormous cost to Australian society directly via the mental health and forensic systems, and indirect costs via its associations with other mental health problems, relationship problems, impaired social functioning, and substance use problems. Behavioural-family-based treatment have good success rates with young children with cooperative parents, however, there are a minority who progress to chronic problems despite this. Risk and resilience factors identifying chronic patterns in early childhood are the key to early intervention. In previous research, this research team showed for the first time that callous-unemotional traits, a feature of chronic psychopathy, could be measured in children as young as 4 years, and was predictive of a range of negative outcomes. However, it was also found that the key neuropsychiatric markers characteristic of psychopathy, including reward dominance-punishment insensitivity and deficits in affective empathy, did not exist in conduct problem children prior to adolescence. Around the time of puberty, it appears that important changes occur in cognitive-affective processing styles that are associated with the adult form of psychopathy and antisocial behaviour. Thus, this research raises critical questions about the development of severe antisocial behaviour (or psychopathy) through the childhood to adolescent years. Our evidence indicates that early adolecence may be the period when intrapsychological characteristics representing chronic risk become concrete. The current research will be the first to map the development common neuropsychiatric markers (affective empathy, punishment insensitivity) of severe antisocial processes through the late childhood-adolescent period. The findings will have clear implications for models of antisocial behaviour and clinical approaches to working with conduct problem children and adolescents.Read moreRead less
Metabolic Complications Of Obstructive Sleep Apnea During Early Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$320,375.00
Summary
Adults with OSA are known to have increased risk for heart disease. We will study children with OSA, and an animal model of the disease during early development, to help clarify how this disease of adulthood actually has its origins in childhood. We have already shown that obese children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are more prone to diabetes (metabolic problems) than those without OSA. More recently, we found that this is also true for children who are not overweight. This early diabetes ....Adults with OSA are known to have increased risk for heart disease. We will study children with OSA, and an animal model of the disease during early development, to help clarify how this disease of adulthood actually has its origins in childhood. We have already shown that obese children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are more prone to diabetes (metabolic problems) than those without OSA. More recently, we found that this is also true for children who are not overweight. This early diabetes is known to be to show a future risk for heart disease. This study will examine why OSA in children is linked to metabolic problems. First, we will continue our study in children who are not overweight. We need to study more children to be sure that OSA is truly linked to metabolic problems - whether or not a child is overweight, because this means that children with OSA are at risk for metabolic and future cardiac problems, whether they are overweight or not. Since weight does not usually change after treatment of OSA, we will also study children again, after they have been treated for OSA. We expect to show that treatment of OSA resolves the metabolic problems. Since hypoxia (low oxygen) occurs in OSA we believe that this is the fundamental cause of the metabolic problems. To test whether this is true, we will look for metabolic problems in piglets exposed to similar, low levels of oxygen as those seen in children with OSA, comparing them to piglets that have not been so exposed. We believe that the tendency to develop OSA and diabetes is inherited. To test this, we will study the genes of a very large family whose members have OSA and-or diabetes, and try to find which genes are associated with OSA and with diabetes. This will help determine if the two genes are linked in some way.Read moreRead less