Background: The dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reading disorders. In this study, we examined whether diminished anticipatory dopamine cell firing--typical of the long variant of the DRD4 allele--is related to emergent and advanced alphabetic skills, and whether executive…

This study tested how name writing affects young children's emergent writing. Beginning with a group of 96 Dutch children ages 3 1/2-5, we selected more-advanced children who were producing strings of conventional letters but, apart from very few words, no correct or readable (invented) spellings (N = 35). All children recruited from…