Research Projects

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder found among 7% of the world population. Despite the current treatment modalities, a significant section of those with ADHD continues to have symptoms and difficulties in functioning. Sleep deficits are consistently found in children with ADHD.We hypothesise that deficits in circadian rhythm and sleep homeostat mechanisms form a core phenotype in a subset of ADHD resulting in sleep deficits, and this is mediated through genetic aberrations in the human circadian clock and sleep homeostat genes. Understanding the pattern of sleep deficits and their underlying molecular mechanisms may help in better management of this disorder. Towards this end, we aim to (i) Assemble a cohort of individuals with ADHD and evaluate their sleep deficits using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) (ii) Perform Polysomnography in a subset of ADHD individuals with sleep deficits (iii) Evaluate the spectrum of rare genetic variants in the genes involved in circadian rhythm and sleep homeostat mechanisms in ADHD individuals with sleep deficits,examine their potential deleterious effect, and test genotype-phenotype correlation. The data obtained from the study will (i) provide an estimate of the prevalence of sleep deficits in ADHD (ii) provide objective measures for the sleep domains affected in ADHD (iii) reveal the spectrum of rare variants in the genes involved in the human circadian clock and sleep homeostat mechanism. To the best of our knowledge, no study has evaluated sleep abnormalities in ADHD through objective measures like polysomnography and examined the spectrum of genetic variants regulating circadian rhythm and sleep homeostasis. The data obtained from this project will (i) provide an estimate of the prevalence of sleep deficits in ADHD (ii) provide objective measures for the sleep domains affected in ADHD (iii) reveal the spectrum of rare genetic variants in the genes involved in the human circadian clock and sleep homeostat mechanism. This will reveal potential genotype-phenotype correlation in ADHD with sleep deficits and provide a framework for the understanding pathogenic mechanism for sleep deficits in ADHD and potential drug targets that could reverse sleep deficits in ADHD.