Individual differences in preschoolers' understanding that human action is caused by internal mental states, or representational theory of mind (RTM), are heritable, as are developmental disorders such as autism in which RTM is particularly impaired. We investigated whether polymorphisms of genes affecting dopamine (DA) utilization and metabolism…

It is becoming increasingly clear that little in development is predetermined or permanently fixed. Rather, gene expression is activity dependent, and epigenesis is probabilistic. So, the study of genetic disorders needs to change from the still widely held view that developmental disorders can be accounted for in terms of intact versus impaired…

A major problem for developmental science is understanding how the cognitive and emotional networks important in carrying out mental processes can be related to individual differences. The last five years have seen major advances in establishing links between alleles of specific genes and the neural networks underlying aspects of attention. These…

The genetic study of ADHD has made considerable progress. Further developments in the field will be reliant in part on identifying the most appropriate phenotypes for genetic analysis. The use of both categorical and dimensional measures of symptoms related to ADHD has been productive. The use of multiple reporters is a valuable feature of the…