Dopamine-Related Genes Moderate the Association Between Family Environment and Executive Function Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exploratory Study.
Julia Smith-Paine, Allison P Fisher, Shari L Wade and 6 others
PMID 32108714WHAT IT FOUND
No short-term link from genes and family environment was found.
At 7 years, brain-injury carriers showed worse parent-reported executive function than orthopedic-injury carriers when permissive parenting was low. At high permissive parenting, brain injury was associated with worse function regardless of gene risk.
Key findings
01At 12 months, no interaction effects were found between carrier status and type of injury, parenting style, or home environment. Non-carriers had higher BRIEF Global Executive Composite scores than carriers (M = 54.30 vs M = 49.95; d = .33).
02At 7 years, there was a significant three-way interaction involving dopaminergic gene risk, permissive parenting, and injury type.
03At 7 years, at low permissive parenting, carriers with brain injury showed worse parent-reported executive function than carriers with orthopedic injury (d = .57); at high permissive parenting, carriers and non-carriers with brain injury and carriers with orthopedic injury showed worse parent-reported executive function than non-carriers with orthopedic injury (d = 1.22 to 1.76).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was exploratory and the sample was small: 135 children had genetic data, and 134 were analysed for DRD4. Executive function was measured only by parent report, which can be influenced by parenting style or injury type. The authors did not adjust for multiple comparisons because of limited power. Children with brain injury were combined across mild, moderate, and severe injury. The comparison group had orthopedic injuries, not typical development, so it may share some risk factors. The study did not test an intervention, so it cannot show that changing parenting or genes affects executive function.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were declared. The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that dopamine genes or permissive parenting cause worse executive function after a child's brain injury. This was an exploratory association study using parent-reported scores, with a small sample and no intervention.