On the role of NOS1 ex1f-VNTR in ADHD – allelic, subgroup, and meta-analysis

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder featuring complex genetics with common and rare variants contributing to disease risk. In a high proportion of cases, ADHD does not remit during adolescence but persists into adulthood. Several studies suggest that NOS1, encoding nitric oxide synthase I, producing the gaseous neurotransmitter NO, is a candidate gene for (adult) ADHD. We here extended our analysis by increasing the original sample, adding two further samples from Norway and Spain, and conducted subgroup and co-morbidity analysis. Our previous finding held true in the extended sample, and also meta-analysis demonstrated an association of NOS1 ex1fVNTR short alleles with adult ADHD (aADHD). Association was restricted to females, as was the case in the discovery sample. Subgroup analysis on the single allele level suggested that the repeat allele caused the association. Regarding subgroups, we found that NOS1 was associated with the hyperactive/impulsive ADHD subtype, but not to pure inattention. In terms of comorbidity, major depression, anxiety disorders, cluster C personality disorders and migraine were associated with short repeats, in particular the repeat allele. Also, short allele carriers had significantly lower IQ. Finally, we again demonstrated an influence of the repeat on gene expression in human post-mortem brain samples. These data validate the role of NOS-I in hyperactive/impulsive phenotypes and call for further studies into the neurobiological underpinnings of this association.PostprintPeer reviewe

A contest study to reduce attractiveness-based discrimination in social judgment

Discrimination in the evaluation of others is a key cause of social inequality around the world. However, relatively little is known about psychological interventions that can be used to prevent biased evaluations. The limited evidence that exists on these strategies is spread across many methods and populations, making it difficult to generate reliable best practices that can be effective across contexts. In the present work, we held a research contest to solicit interventions with the goal of reducing discrimination based on physical attractiveness using a hypothetical admissions task. Thirty interventions were tested across four rounds of data collection (total N > 20,000). Using a Signal Detection Theory approach to evaluate interventions, we identified two interventions that reduced discrimination by lessening both decision noise and decision bias, while two other interventions reduced overall discrimination by only lessening noise or bias. The most effective interventions largely provided concrete strategies that directed participants’ attention towards decision-relevant criteria and away from socially biasing information, though the fact that very similar interventions produced differing effects on discrimination suggests certain key characteristics that are needed for manipulations to reliably impact judgment. The effects of these four interventions on decision bias, noise, or both also replicated in a different discrimination domain, political affiliation, and generalized to populations with self-reported hiring experience. Results of the contest for decreasing attractiveness-based favoritism suggest that identifying effective routes for changing discriminatory behavior is a challenge, and that greater investment is needed to develop impactful, flexible, and scalable strategies for reducing discrimination

The relation between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in couples dealing with haematological cancer

Couples' ability to cope with cancer is significantly associated with how satisfied they are with their relationship. However, little evidence specific to haemato-oncological patients exists. The objective of this study was to examine how dyadic coping (DC) affects relationship satisfaction among couples facing haematological cancer. Furthermore, we tested complex interactions between distress, disease-related and socio-demographic factors. In a multicentre study, 327 patients (haemato-oncological cancer; mean age: 57 years, 63% male) and their partners responded to surveys examining their relationship satisfaction, DC and distress. The Actor-Partner-Interdependence-Model (APIM) and moderator analyses were used to assess interactions between these concepts. In the APIM, positive DC was significantly related to greater levels of relationship satisfaction, and negative DC was related to lower levels of relationship satisfaction (all p < .001). The partners' distress was significantly related to lower levels of relationship satisfaction of the partners (p < .05). Furthermore, distress, age and relationship duration had significant moderating effects on the association between DC and relationship satisfaction (p < .05). Our results enable describing patient and partner as an interactional unit in which positive DC supports a satisfying relationship. They imply that strengthening positive DC in a couple facing haematological cancer can contribute to them having a well-functioning and sustaining relationship