Diagnosis and Identification of Tourette Syndrome: Impact of ADHD Symptoms

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura K. Masopust ◽  
Mark D. Terjesen
2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Zablotsky ◽  
Matthew D. Bramlett ◽  
Stephen J. Blumberg

Objective: Children with ADHD frequently present with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomatology, yet there is a notable gap in the treatment needs of this subpopulation, including whether the presence of ASD may be associated with more severe ADHD symptoms. Method: Data from the 2014 National Survey of the Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD and Tourette Syndrome ( n = 2,464) were used to compare children diagnosed with ADHD and ASD with children with ADHD, but not ASD. Children were classified as needing treatment if it was received or their parents reported it was needed, but not received. Results: Approximately one in eight children currently diagnosed with ADHD was also diagnosed with ASD. Children diagnosed with both disorders had greater treatment needs, more co-occurring conditions, and were more likely to have a combined hyperactive/impulsive and inattentive ADHD subtype. Conclusion: These findings highlight the complexity of children diagnosed with both ADHD and ASD.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Hirschtritt ◽  
S. M. Darrow ◽  
C. Illmann ◽  
L. Osiecki ◽  
M. Grados ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe unique phenotypic and genetic aspects of obsessive-compulsive (OCD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) are not well characterized. Here, we examine symptom patterns and heritability of OCD and ADHD in TS families.MethodOCD and ADHD symptom patterns were examined in TS patients and their family members (N= 3494) using exploratory factor analyses (EFA) for OCD and ADHD symptoms separately, followed by latent class analyses (LCA) of the resulting OCD and ADHD factor sum scores jointly; heritability and clinical relevance of the resulting factors and classes were assessed.ResultsEFA yielded a 2-factor model for ADHD and an 8-factor model for OCD. Both ADHD factors (inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms) were genetically related to TS, ADHD, and OCD. The doubts, contamination, need for sameness, and superstitions factors were genetically related to OCD, but not ADHD or TS; symmetry/exactness and fear-of-harm were associated with TS and OCD while hoarding was associated with ADHD and OCD. In contrast, aggressive urges were genetically associated with TS, OCD, and ADHD. LCA revealed a three-class solution: few OCD/ADHD symptoms (LC1), OCD & ADHD symptoms (LC2), and symmetry/exactness, hoarding, and ADHD symptoms (LC3). LC2 had the highest psychiatric comorbidity rates (⩾50% for all disorders).ConclusionsSymmetry/exactness, aggressive urges, fear-of-harm, and hoarding show complex genetic relationships with TS, OCD, and ADHD, and, rather than being specific subtypes of OCD, transcend traditional diagnostic boundaries, perhaps representing an underlying vulnerability (e.g. failure of top-down cognitive control) common to all three disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-249
Author(s):  
Ronja Weiblen ◽  
Melanie Jonas ◽  
Sören Krach ◽  
Ulrike M. Krämer

Abstract. Research on the neural mechanisms underlying Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) has mostly concentrated on abnormalities in basal ganglia circuits. Recent alternative accounts, however, focused more on social and affective aspects. Individuals with GTS show peculiarities in their social and affective domain, including echophenomena, coprolalia, and nonobscene socially inappropriate behavior. This article reviews the experimental and theoretical work done on the social symptoms of GTS. We discuss the role of different social cognitive and affective functions and associated brain networks, namely, the social-decision-making system, theory-of-mind functions, and the so-called “mirror-neuron” system. Although GTS affects social interactions in many ways, and although the syndrome includes aberrant social behavior, the underlying cognitive, affective, and neural processes remain to be investigated.


Author(s):  
Jörg-Tobias Kuhn ◽  
Elena Ise ◽  
Julia Raddatz ◽  
Christin Schwenk ◽  
Christian Dobel

Abstract. Objective: Deficits in basic numerical skills, calculation, and working memory have been found in children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) as well as children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This paper investigates cognitive profiles of children with DD and/or ADHD symptoms (AS) in a double dissociation design to obtain a better understanding of the comorbidity of DD and ADHD. Method: Children with DD-only (N = 33), AS-only (N = 16), comorbid DD+AS (N = 20), and typically developing controls (TD, N = 40) were assessed on measures of basic numerical processing, calculation, working memory, processing speed, and neurocognitive measures of attention. Results: Children with DD (DD, DD+AS) showed deficits in all basic numerical skills, calculation, working memory, and sustained attention. Children with AS (AS, DD+AS) displayed more selective difficulties in dot enumeration, subtraction, verbal working memory, and processing speed. Also, they generally performed more poorly in neurocognitive measures of attention, especially alertness. Children with DD+AS mostly showed an additive combination of the deficits associated with DD-only and A_Sonly, except for subtraction tasks, in which they were less impaired than expected. Conclusions: DD and AS appear to be related to largely distinct patterns of cognitive deficits, which are present in combination in children with DD+AS.



Author(s):  
Ilka Eichelberger ◽  
Julia Plücka ◽  
Christopher Hautmann ◽  
Charlotte Hanisch ◽  
Manfred Döpfner

Abstract. Zusammenfassung: Fragestellung: Das Präventionsprogramm für Expansives Problemverhalten (PEP), entwickelt für Eltern (EL) und ErzieherInnen (ER) von Vorschulkindern, zeigte in beiden Modulen (PEP-EL und PEP-ER) in der Routineversorgung positive Effekte. Das Ziel dieser Sekundäranalyse war die Untersuchung der Effekte beider Module bezogen auf Vorschulkinder mit hoch ausgeprägter ADHS-Symptomatik im Vergleich zu Kindern mit keiner oder wenig ausgeprägter ADHS-Symptomatik. Methodik: In einem Eigenkontrollgruppendesign werden die Veränderungen der Symptomatik und des Problemverhaltens der Kinder in spezifischen Situationen zu Hause und in der Schule in einer Wartephase mit den Veränderungen in einer Interventionsphase verglichen (jeweils 3 Monate). Ergebnisse: Durch das Elterntraining reduzieren sich für Kinder mit hoch ausgeprägter ADHS-Symptomatik die spezifischen Problemsituationen zu Hause (HSQ-D) und durch das ErzieherInnentraining zeigen sich signifikante Effekte für oppositionell-aggressives Verhalten und im Gesamtscore des Fragebogen für ErzieherInnen von Klein- und Vorschulkindern (C-TRF 1½-5). Kinder mit keiner oder weniger ausgeprägter ADHS-Symptomatik zeigen Veränderungen im HSQ-D, im oppositionell-aggressiven Verhalten und im Gesamtwert des Elternfragebogen für Klein- und Vorschulkinder (CBCL 1½-5), während sich für das ErzieherInnentraining in allen Zielvariablen signifikante Effekte zeigen. Schussfolgerungen: Die Befunde, dass sich Effekte auf unterschiedlichen Dimensionen von Problemverhalten zeigen, legen nahe, dass die Kombination beider Trainingsmodule eine potentielle präventive Strategie für Vorschulkinder mit ADHS darstellt.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzannah K. Helps ◽  
Samantha J. Broyd ◽  
Christopher J. James ◽  
Anke Karl ◽  
Edmund J. S. Sonuga-Barke

Background: The default mode interference hypothesis ( Sonuga-Barke & Castellanos, 2007 ) predicts (1) the attenuation of very low frequency oscillations (VLFO; e.g., .05 Hz) in brain activity within the default mode network during the transition from rest to task, and (2) that failures to attenuate in this way will lead to an increased likelihood of periodic attention lapses that are synchronized to the VLFO pattern. Here, we tested these predictions using DC-EEG recordings within and outside of a previously identified network of electrode locations hypothesized to reflect DMN activity (i.e., S3 network; Helps et al., 2008 ). Method: 24 young adults (mean age 22.3 years; 8 male), sampled to include a wide range of ADHD symptoms, took part in a study of rest to task transitions. Two conditions were compared: 5 min of rest (eyes open) and a 10-min simple 2-choice RT task with a relatively high sampling rate (ISI 1 s). DC-EEG was recorded during both conditions, and the low-frequency spectrum was decomposed and measures of the power within specific bands extracted. Results: Shift from rest to task led to an attenuation of VLFO activity within the S3 network which was inversely associated with ADHD symptoms. RT during task also showed a VLFO signature. During task there was a small but significant degree of synchronization between EEG and RT in the VLFO band. Attenuators showed a lower degree of synchrony than nonattenuators. Discussion: The results provide some initial EEG-based support for the default mode interference hypothesis and suggest that failure to attenuate VLFO in the S3 network is associated with higher synchrony between low-frequency brain activity and RT fluctuations during a simple RT task. Although significant, the effects were small and future research should employ tasks with a higher sampling rate to increase the possibility of extracting robust and stable signals.


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