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A General Population Twin Study of Conduct Problems and the Auditory P300 Waveform

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Abstract

Reduced amplitude of the P300 event-related potential has been consistently associated with a variety of externalising problems, including conduct disorder. The few available genetically-informative studies of these relationships, however, were conducted among adolescents/adults (i.e., at an age when conduct disorder has typically already become manifest). Among 200 general population twins with a mean age of 9 years (range 6–14 years), we studied the relationship between the P300 waveform elicited by an auditory oddball task and the DSM-oriented conduct problems scale of the Child Behavior Checklist 6–18. Conduct problems scores were negatively and significantly correlated (r = −0.19, p = 0.01) with P300 amplitude; correlations between P300 amplitude and the other DSM-oriented Child Behavior Checklist scales were non-significant, except for oppositional defiant problems (p = 0.01). We found moderate heritability estimates for both P300 amplitude (0.58, CI:0.37;0.73) and conduct problems (0.52, CI:0.25;0.70). Bivariate twin analyses indicated that the covariation between these two phenotypes can be explained by additive genetic factors only, with a genetic correlation of −0.33. An association between reduced P300 amplitude and conduct problems can be substantiated already in childhood, at an age that precedes the most typical onset of conduct disorder. This relationship appears to be genetic in nature. Reduced P300 amplitude can represent a valuable marker for conduct problems, and can contribute to the early identification of children at high-risk for conduct disorder.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Valeria Leonardi M Sc, Elettra Pezzica M Sc, Matilde Taddei Ph D, Cristina D’Ippolito M Sc for assistance in data collection and management, and all the children and parents who took part in this study. This study was supported in part by PRIN 2006061953 grant awarded to M. Battaglia, and an Italian Ministry of Health 2009 Strategic Research grant to M. Battaglia. The first author of this paper was in the San Raffaele University Developmental Psychopathology PhD Program, supported in part by the CARIPLO Foundation ‘Human Talents’ Grant for Academic Centres of Excellence in Post-Graduate Teaching (Dr Battaglia recipient).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academic Centre for the Study of Behavioural Plasticity, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20 via S. D’Ancona, 20127, Milan, Italy

    Eleonora Bertoletti, Giorgia Michelini, Sara Moruzzi, Giuseppina Ferrer & Anna Ogliari

  2. Sleep Disorders Centre, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20 via S. D’Ancona, 20127, Milan, Italy

    Luigi Ferini-Strambi

  3. National Centre for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 299 Viale Regina Elena, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Maria Antonietta Stazi

  4. Department of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, Laval University, Québec, Canada

    Marco Battaglia

  5. Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, 2601 Chemin de la Canardiére, Quebec City, Québec, G1J 2G3, Canada

    Marco Battaglia

  6. MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, SE5 8AF, London, United Kingdom

    Giorgia Michelini

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  1. Eleonora Bertoletti
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  2. Giorgia Michelini
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  3. Sara Moruzzi
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  4. Giuseppina Ferrer
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  6. Maria Antonietta Stazi
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  7. Anna Ogliari
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  8. Marco Battaglia
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Correspondence to Eleonora Bertoletti or Marco Battaglia.

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Bertoletti, E., Michelini, G., Moruzzi, S. et al. A General Population Twin Study of Conduct Problems and the Auditory P300 Waveform. J Abnorm Child Psychol 42, 861–869 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9836-7

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