James F. Leckman, M.D., Director of Research
Neison Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Child Study Center
Yale University School of Medicine
PO Box 207900
New Haven, CT  06520-7900
I-269  SHM   (203) 785-2511
Email: james.leckman@yale.edu

Dr. Leckman is a child psychiatrist who trained at the University of New Mexico, NIMH, and at Yale University. He is interested in the interaction of genes and environment in the development of the human CNS. He directs basic studies of human homeobox genes active in the development of the forebrain. He also has a long-standing interest in patients and families with Tourette's Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. His research on these disorders is multifaceted from phenomenology, to neurobiology (neuroimaging, neuroendocrinology) to genetics, to risk factor research (prenatal factors are important), to treatment studies. This research has been supported by a program project grant from NIMH and smaller grants from the Tourette Syndrome Association and other private foundations. Recent interests include the application of Darwinian principles of evolution to the study of psychopathology. Among other activities, Dr. Leckman currently serves as a corresponding editor for the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and as a deputy editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology.

Dr. Leckman and his colleague Dr. Donald Cohen with the help of many current and past members of the Child Study Center faculty have written a book that presents the Yale Child Study Center's approach to the assessment and treatment of Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Although the official title of the book is: Tourette's syndrome - Tics, Obsessions, Compulsions: Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Care, we have started calling it: The Self under Siege which is more evocative of the actual experience. Published by John Wiley and Sons in New York, the book should be available in bookstores in the fall of 1998. To review the table of contents click here, and to provide the information to place an order click here (name, address, telephone number, etc). We are hoping to offer a discount to individuals who place orders through our clinic and this web site. If you would like to order the book directly from Wiley, please click here.

Recent articles include:

1. Leckman JF, Zhang H, Vitale A, Lahnin F, Lynch K, Bondi C, Kim YS, Peterson BS. Course of tic severity in tourette syndrome: the first two decades. Pediatrics 1998 Jul;102(1 Pt 3):14-19

2. Leckman JF, Peterson BS, Anderson GM, Arnsten AF, Pauls DL, Cohen DJ. Pathogenesis of Tourette's syndrome. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 1997 Jan;38(1):119-142

3. Leckman JF, Grice DE, Boardman J, Zhang H, Vitale A, Bondi C, Alsobrook J, Peterson BS, Cohen DJ, Rasmussen SA, Goodman WK, McDougle CJ, Pauls DL. Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Am J Psychiatry 1997 Jul;154(7):911-917

4. Grice DE, Leckman JF, Pauls DL, Kurlan R, Kidd KK, Fong M, Pakistis A, Buxbaum JD, Cohen DJ, and Gelernter J. Genetic association of alleles at the dopamine D4 receptor locus with Tourette's syndrome. American Journal of Human Genetics 59: 644-652, 1996.

5. Lin X, Swaroop A, Vaccarino FM, Murtha MT, Ruddle FH, and Leckman JF. Characterization and sequence analysis of the human homeobox-containing gene, GBX2. Genomics 31:335-342, 1996.

6. Leckman JF, Elliott GR, Bromet EJ, Campbell M, Cicchetti D, Cohen DJ, Conger JJ, Coyle JT, Earls FJ, Feldman R, Green M, Hamburg B, Kazdin AE, Offord DR, Purpura D, Solnit AJ, Solomon F, and Cook-Deegan RM. Report Card on the National Plan for Research on Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders: The midway point. Archives of General Psychiatry 52:715-723, 1995.

7. Leckman JF, Walker DE, Goodman WK, Pauls DL, and Cohen DJ. "Just right" perceptions associated with compulsive behavior in Tourette's syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry 151:675-680, 1994.

8. Leckman JF, Goodman WK, North WG, Chappell PB, Price LH, Pauls DL, Anderson GM, Riddle MA, McDougle CJ, Barr LC, and Cohen DJ. The role of central oxytocin in obsessive compulsive disorder and related normal behavior. Psychoneuroendocrinology 19:723-749, 1994.

9. Leckman JF, Goodman WK, North WG, Chappell PB, Price LH, Pauls DL, Anderson GM, Riddle MA, McSwiggan-Hardin M, McDougle CJ, Barr LC, and Cohen DJ. Elevated levels of CSF oxytocin in obsessive compulsive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry 51:782-792, 1994.

10. Leckman JF, Peterson BS: The pathogenesis of Tourette's syndrome: Epigenetic Factors active in early CNS development. Biological Psychiatry 34:425-427, 1993.

11. Leckman JF, Walker DE, Cohen DJ: Premonitory urges in Tourette's syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry 150:98-102, 1993.

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