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Trichotillomania/hair pulling disorder (HPD) and excoriation/skin picking disorder (SPD) are childhood-onset, body-focused repetitive behaviors that are thought to share genetic susceptibility and underlying pathophysiology with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS). We sought to determine the prevalence of DSM-5 HPD and SPD in TS patients, and to identify clinical factors most associated with their co-morbidity with TS. Participants included 811 TS patients recruited from TS specialty clinics for a multi-center genetic study. Patients were assessed using standardized, validated semi-structured interviews. HPD and SPD diagnoses were determined using a validated self-report questionnaire. HPD/SPD prevalence rates were calculated, and clinical predictors were evaluated using regression modeling. 3.8 and 13.0% of TS patients met DSM-5 criteria for HPD and SPD, respectively. In univariable analyses, female sex, OCD, and both tic and obsessive-compulsive symptom severity were among those associated with HPD and/or SPD. In multivariable analyses, only lifetime worst-ever motor tic severity remained significantly associated with HPD. Female sex, co-occurring OCD, ADHD, and motor tic severity remained independently associated with SPD. This is the first study to examine HPD and SPD prevalence in a TS sample using semi-structured diagnostic instruments. The prevalence of HPD and SPD in TS patients, and their association with increased tic severity and co-occurring OCD, suggests that clinicians should screen children with TS and related disorders for HPD/SPD, particularly in females and in those with co-occurring OCD. This study also helps set a foundation for subsequent research regarding HPD/SPD risk factors, pathophysiology, and treatment models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contributions of cognitive style and organization to processing and recalling a complex novel stimulus were examined by comparing the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) test performance of children, adolescents, and adults with ASD to clinical controls (CC) and non-impaired controls (NC) using the Developmental Scoring System. The ROCF task involves a complex structure with strong organizational or integrative processing demands. The individuals with ASD relied on a predominantly part-oriented strategy to cope with the complexity of the task and did not make the typical developmental shift to a configurational approach. Both processing style and organization (whether pieces of information were perceived as connected to one another in a meaningful way) contributed to structural recall in the ASD group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is frequently comorbid with Tourette's disorder (TD), it is unclear whether they have a common genetic etiology. Familial relationships between DSM-IV ADHD and TD are studied in TD+ADHD, TD-only (TD-ADHD), ADHD-only (ADHD-TD), and control groups.Method: Case-control, direct-interview family study of 692 relatives of 75 TD+ADHD, 74 TD-only, 41 ADHD-only, and 49 control probands collected between 1999 and 2004. Age-corrected prevalence rates, odds ratios, and predictors of TD, ADHD, and OCD among relatives are estimated from blinded best-estimate diagnoses using survival Kaplan-Meier and generalized estimating equation regression analyses.Results: In relatives of the TD-only group, although ADHD exceeded control rates (p=.03), ADHD-TD (p=.51) rates were not increased. In the ADHD-only group, TD was increased (p=.004) but TD-ADHD rates were not increased (p=.18). Comorbid ADHD+TD diagnoses in relatives were elevated in all case groups (pConclusions: TD and ADHD are not alternate phenotypes of a single underlying genetic cause. There is an increased risk of comorbid ADHD and TD in affected families, possibly reflecting some overlapping neurobiology or pathophysiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]