Neural correlates of tic severity and cognitive control in children with Tourette syndrome

AbstractTourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder with involvement of genetic and environmental factors. We investigated genetic loci previously implicated in Tourette syndrome and associated disorders in interaction with pre- and perinatal adversity in relation to tic severity using a case-only (N = 518) design. We assessed 98 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) selected from (I) top SNPs from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of TS; (II) top SNPs from GWASs of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD); (III) SNPs previously implicated in candidate-gene studies of TS; (IV) SNPs previously implicated in OCD or ASD; and (V) tagging SNPs in neurotransmitter-related candidate genes. Linear regression models were used to examine the main effects of the SNPs on tic severity, and the interaction effect of these SNPs with a cumulative pre- and perinatal adversity score. Replication was sought for SNPs that met the threshold of significance (after correcting for multiple testing) in a replication sample (N = 678). One SNP (rs7123010), previously implicated in a TS meta-analysis, was significantly related to higher tic severity. We found a gene–environment interaction for rs6539267, another top TS GWAS SNP. These findings were not independently replicated. Our study highlights the future potential of TS GWAS top hits in gene–environment studies.

Download Full-text

Premonitory urges and tics in Tourette syndrome: computational mechanisms and neural correlates

Current Opinion in Neurobiology ◽

10.1016/j.conb.2017.08.009 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 187-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Vasco A Conceição ◽

Ângelo Dias ◽

Ana C Farinha ◽

Tiago V Maia

Keyword(s):

Tourette Syndrome ◽

Neural Correlates

Download Full-text

Neural Correlates of Impaired Cognitive Control over Working Memory in Schizophrenia

Biological Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.09.032 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 76 (2) ◽

pp. 146-153 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Teal S. Eich ◽

Derek Evan Nee ◽

Catherine Insel ◽

Chara Malapani ◽

Edward E. Smith

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Neural Correlates

Download Full-text

The Neural Correlates of Declining Performance with Age: Evidence for Age-Related Changes in Cognitive Control

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhj109 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. 1739-1749 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

D. J. Sharp ◽

S. K. Scott ◽

M. A. Mehta ◽

R. J.S. Wise

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Changes

Download Full-text

Course of Tic Severity in Tourette Syndrome: The First Two Decades

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

10.1097/00004583-199904000-00029 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 492

Author(s):

James F. Leckman ◽

Heping Zhang ◽

Amy Vitale ◽

Fatima Lahnin ◽

Kimberly Lynch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tourette Syndrome ◽

Tic Severity

Download Full-text

Multimodal neural correlates of cognitive control in the Human Connectome Project

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.081 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 163 ◽

pp. 41-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Dov B. Lerman-Sinkoff ◽

Jing Sui ◽

Srinivas Rachakonda ◽

Sridhar Kandala ◽

Vince D. Calhoun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Human Connectome Project

Download Full-text

Effectiveness of behaviour therapy for children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder in a real-world setting

10.31234/osf.io/hbrm4 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Per Andrén ◽

Vera Wachtmeister ◽

Julia Franzé ◽

Caroline Speiner ◽

Lorena Fernández de la Cruz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Tourette Syndrome ◽

Real World ◽

Post Treatment ◽

Reversal Training ◽

Behaviour Therapy ◽

Tic Disorder ◽

Chronic Tic Disorder ◽

Habit Reversal Training ◽

Tic Severity

Background: Treatment guidelines recommend behaviour therapy (BT) as the first-line intervention for patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic tic disorder (CTD). The efficacy of BT has been documented in randomised controlled trials (RCTs), but it is unclear to what extent these results are generalisable to real-world clinical settings, and whether the therapeutic gains are maintained long-term.Methods: In this naturalistic study, 74 young people with TS/CTD (aged 6 to 17) received BT (including psychoeducation, exposure with response prevention, habit reversal training or a combination of these treatments) at a specialist clinic in Stockholm, Sweden. Data were routinely collected at baseline, post-treatment, and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Measures included the clinician-rated Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) and the Clinical Global Impression – Improvement scale (CGI-I), amongst others.Results: Tic severity and tic-related impairment (as measured by the YGTSS) improved significantly after treatment, with large within-group effect sizes (d=1.03 for the YGTSS Total Tic Severity Score, and d=1.37 for the YGTSS Impairment Score). At post-treatment, 57% of the participants were classified as treatment responders according to the CGI-I. Both tic severity and tic-related impairment continued to improve further through the follow-up, with 75% of the participants being rated as responders 12 months after the end of treatment. Significant improvements were also observed across a range of secondary measures.Conclusions: BT is an effective and durable treatment for young people with TS/CTD in a real-world clinical setting, with effects comparable to those reported in RCTs.

Download Full-text

Neural Plasticity in Functional and Anatomical MRI Studies of Children with Tourette Syndrome

Behavioural Neurology ◽

10.1155/2013/376590 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 33-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Heike Eichele ◽

Kerstin J. Plessen

Keyword(s):

Tourette Syndrome ◽

Neural Plasticity ◽

Developmental Disorders ◽

Age Groups ◽

Regulatory Control ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Tic Severity ◽

Adaptive Processes ◽

Cross Sectional Design ◽

Anatomical Mri

Background:Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder with childhood onset characterized by chronic motor and vocal tics. The typical clinical course of an attenuation of symptoms during adolescence in parallel with the emerging self-regulatory control during development suggests that plastic processes may play an important role in the development of tic symptoms.Methods:We conducted a systematic search to identify existing imaging studies (both anatomical and functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI]) in young persons under the age of 19 years with TS.Results:The final search resulted in 13 original studies, which were reviewed with a focus on findings suggesting adaptive processes (using fMRI) and plasticity (using anatomical MRI). Differences in brain activation compared to healthy controls during tasks that require overriding of prepotent responses help to understand compensatory pathways in children with TS. Along with alterations in regions putatively representing the origin of tics, deviations in several other regions most likely represent an activity-dependent neural plasticity that help to modulate tic severity, such as the prefrontal cortex, but also in the corpus callosum and the limbic system.Discussion:Factors that potentially influence the development of adaptive changes in the brain of children with TS are age, comorbidity with other developmental disorders, medication use, IQ along with study-design or MRI techniques for acquisition, and analysis of data. The most prominent limitation of all studies is their cross-sectional design. Longitudinal studies extending to younger age groups and to children at risk for developing TS hopefully will confirm findings of neural plasticity in future investigations.

Download Full-text