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. 2008 Jan 15;157(1-3):181-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2007.04.003. Epub 2007 Oct 25.

Temporal patterns of self-injurious behavior correlate with stress hormone levels in the developmentally disabled

Aaron S Kemp  1 , Paul T Fillmore, Mohammed R Lenjavi, Melvin Lyon, Aleksandra Chicz-Demet, Paul E Touchette, Curt A Sandman
Affiliations

Temporal patterns of self-injurious behavior correlate with stress hormone levels in the developmentally disabled

Aaron S Kemp et al. Psychiatry Res. .

Abstract

While the origins and developmental course of self-injurious behavior (SIB) remain relatively unknown, recent studies suggest a biological imbalance may potentiate or provoke the contagious recurrence of SIB patterns in individuals with severe developmental disabilities (DD). Evidence from several laboratories indicates that functioning, relations, and processing of a stress-related molecule, proopiomelanocortin (POMC) may be perturbed among certain subgroups of individuals exhibiting SIB. The current investigation employed a unique time-pattern analysis program (THEME) to examine whether recurrent temporal patterns (T-patterns) of SIB were related to morning levels of two POMC-derived hormones: beta-endorphin (betaE) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). THEME was used to quantify highly significant (non-random) T-patterns that included SIB within a dataset of in situ observational recordings spanning 8 days ( approximately 40 h) in 25 subjects with DD. Pearson's product-moment analyses revealed highly significant correlations between the percentage of T-patterns containing SIB and basal levels of both betaE and ACTH, which were not found with any other "control" T-patterns. These findings support the hypothesis that the recurrent temporal patterning of SIB represents a unique behavioral phenotype directly related to perturbed levels of POMC-derived stress hormones in certain individuals with severe DD.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatterplot showing the correlation of AM levels of beta-endorphin (βE) with the percentage of T-patterns containing both self-injurious behaviors (SIB) and agitated behaviors (AB). (The data for both axes have been logarithmically transformed.)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scatterplot showing the correlation of AM levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) with the percentage of T-patterns containing both self-injurious behaviors (SIB) and agitated behaviors (AB). (The data for both axes have been logarithmically transformed.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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