Dysfunction of the γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic system in Tourette syndrome may conceivably underlie the symptoms of motor disinhibition presenting as tics and psychiatric manifestations, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The purpose of this study was to identify a possible dysfunction of the γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic system in Tourette patients, e...

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics that are often associated with psychiatric co-morbidities. The clinical heterogeneity of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome has been attributed to the disturbance of functionally distinct cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits, but this remains to be demonstrated. The aim of this study was to de...

Tourette syndrome is a childhood-onset disorder characterized by a combination of motor and vocal tics, often associated with psychiatric comorbidities including attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Despite an onset early in life, half of patients may present symptoms in adulthood, with variable degrees of severity. In select cases, the syndrome may le...

Studies of rodent grooming can provide valuable insight for dopamine contributions to the initiation, organization, and repetition of motor patterns. This information is useful for understanding how brain dysfunctions contribute to movement disorders such as Tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder, in which patients are driven to reiterate particular movement patterns. In rodents, d...

The current rationale for target selection in Tourette syndrome revolves around the notion of cortico-basal ganglia circuit involvement in the pathophysiology of the disease. However, despite extensive research, the ideal target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) is still under debate, with many structures being neglected and underexplored. Based on clinical observations and taking into account t...

A retrospective analysis of a 35-year single-center experience with pediatric tics and Tourette syndrome was conducted. 482 charts from 1972 to 2007 were reviewed. Follow-up surveys were mailed to last known address and 83 patients responded (17%). Response rate was affected by long interval from last visit; contact information was often incorrect as it was the address of the patient as a child...

Tourette syndrome is a neuropsychiatric disorder with the cardinal symptoms of motor and vocal tics. Often tics are accompanied by comorbidities such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder or depression. Research has mainly focused on the cortico-striato-thalamo circuit, but clinical symptoms and recent neuroimaging studies reporting altered resting network c...

High-frequency deep brain stimulation targeting the output nucleus of the basal ganglia, the globus pallidus internus, has been suggested as a treatment modality for intractable Tourette syndrome and basal-ganglia-mediated motor tics. Recent studies on the modeling of motor tics induced by focal injections of bicuculline to the striatum, a putative model of Tourette syndrome, have shown that ti...