Disruption of , encoding delta-catenin, causes a penetrant attention deficit disorder and myopia.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common and highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder with poorly understood pathophysiology and genetic mechanisms. A balanced chromosomal translocation interrupts in several members of a family with profound attentional deficit and myopia, and disruption of the gene was found in a separate unrelated individual with ADHD and myopia. encodes a brain-specific member of the adherens junction complex essential for postsynaptic and dendritic development, a site of potential pathophysiology in attentional disorders. Therefore, we propose that the severe and highly penetrant nature of the ADHD phenotype in affected individuals identifies as a potential gateway to ADHD pathophysiology similar to the translocation in psychosis or in autism.