scholarly journals The role of the cingulate cortex in the generation of motor tics and the experience of the premonitory urge‐to‐tic in Tourette syndrome

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Jackson ◽  
Hilmar P. Sigurdsson ◽  
Katherine Dyke ◽  
Maria Condon ◽  
Georgina M. Jackson
Cortex ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 126 ◽  
pp. 119-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Jackson ◽  
Joanna Loayza ◽  
Mira Crighton ◽  
Hilmar P. Sigurdsson ◽  
Katherine Dyke ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Stephen R. Jackson ◽  
Hilmar P. Sigurdsson ◽  
Katherine Dyke ◽  
Maria Condon ◽  
Georgina M. Jackson

AbstractTourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder of childhood onset that is characterised by the occurrence of motor and vocal tics. TS is associated with cortical-striatal-thalamic-cortical circuit [CSTC] dysfunction and hyper-excitability of cortical limbic and motor regions that are thought to lead to the occurrence of tics. Individuals with TS often report that their tics are preceded by ‘premonitory sensory/urge phenomena’ (PU) that are described as uncomfortable bodily sensations that precede the execution of a tic and are experienced as a strong urge for motor discharge. While the precise role played by PU in the occurrence of tics is largely unknown, they are nonetheless of considerable theoretical and clinical importance as they form a core component of many behavioural therapies used in the treatment of tic disorders. Recent evidence indicates that the cingulate cortex may play an important role in the generation of PU in TS, and in ‘urges-for-action’ more generally. In the current study we utilised voxel-based morphometry (VBM) techniques, together with ‘seed-to-voxel’ structural covariance network (SCN) mapping, to investigate the putative role played by the cingulate cortex in the generation of motor tics and the experience of PU in a relatively large group of young people with TS. Whole-brain VBM analysis revealed that TS was associated with clusters of significantly reduced grey matter volumes bilaterally within: the orbito-frontal cortex; the cerebellum; and the anterior and mid cingulate cortex. Similarly, analysis of SCNs associated with bilateral mid- and anterior-cingulate ‘seed’ regions demonstrated that TS is associated with increased structural covariance primarily with the bilateral motor cerebellum; the inferior frontal cortex; and the posterior cingulate cortex.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (13) ◽  
pp. 851-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey S. Singer ◽  
Farhan Augustine

Tics are sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic motor movements or vocalizations (phonic productions) that are commonly present in children and are required symptoms for the diagnosis of Tourette syndrome. Despite their frequency, the underlying pathophysiology of tics/Tourette syndrome remains unknown. In this review, we discuss a variety of controversies surrounding the pathophysiology of tics, including the following: Are tics voluntary or involuntary? What is the role of the premonitory urge? Are tics due to excess excitatory or deficient inhibition? Is it time to adopt the contemporary version of the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical (CBGTC) circuit? and Do we know the primary abnormal neurotransmitter in Tourette syndrome? Data from convergent clinical and animal model studies support complex interactions among the various CBGTC sites and neurotransmitters. Advances are being made; however, numerous pathophysiologic questions persist.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-422
Author(s):  
Xiao Xiao ◽  
Ming Ding ◽  
Yu-Qiu Zhang

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1678-1691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Walton ◽  
James Groves ◽  
Katie A. Jennings ◽  
Paula L. Croxson ◽  
Trevor Sharp ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 59 (3A) ◽  
pp. 587-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Débora Palmini Maia ◽  
Francisco Cardoso

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by a combination of multiple motor tics and at least one phonic tic. TS patients often have associated behavioral abnormalities such as obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit and hyperactive disorder. Coprolalia, defined as emission of obscenities or swearing, is one type of complex vocal tic, present in 8% to 26% of patients. The pathophysiology of coprolalia and other complex phonic tics remains ill-defined. We report a patient whose complex phonic tic was characterized by repetitively saying "breast cancer" on seeing the son of aunt who suffered from this condition. The patient was unable to suppress the tic and did not meet criteria for obsessive compulsive disorder. The phenomenology herein described supports the theory that complex phonic tics result from disinhibition of the loop connecting the basal ganglia with the limbic cortex.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kianoush Banaie Boroujeni ◽  
Michelle K Sigona ◽  
Robert Louie Treuting ◽  
Manuel J Thomas ◽  
Charles F Caskey ◽  
...  

Neural activity in anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior striatum predicts which visual objects are sampled and how likely objects are paired with positive or aversive outcomes. We causally tested whether these neural signals contribute to behavioral flexibility. Disrupting with transcranial ultrasound the ACC, but not striatum, prolonged information sampling when attentional demands were high, impaired flexible learning, and reduced the ability to avoid losses. These results support a role of the ACC in guiding attention and information sampling to overcome motivational conflict during adaptive behaviors.


Author(s):  
Sebastian P.H. Speer ◽  
Ale Smidts ◽  
Maarten A.S. Boksem

AbstractEvery day, we are faced with the conflict between the temptation to cheat for financial gains and maintaining a positive image of ourselves as being a ‘good person’. While it has been proposed that cognitive control is needed to mediate this conflict between reward and our moral self-image, the exact role of cognitive control in (dis)honesty remains elusive. Here, we identify this role, by investigating the neural mechanism underlying cheating. We developed a novel task which allows for inconspicuously measuring spontaneous cheating on a trial-by-trial basis in the MRI scanner. We found that activity in the Nucleus Accumbens promotes cheating, particularly for individuals who cheat a lot, while a network consisting of Posterior Cingulate Cortex, Temporoparietal Junction and Medial Prefrontal Cortex promotes honesty, particularly in individuals who are generally honest. Finally, activity in areas associated with Cognitive Control (Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Inferior Frontal Gyrus) helped dishonest participants to be honest, whereas it promoted cheating for honest participants. Thus, our results suggest that cognitive control is not needed to be honest or dishonest per se, but that it depends on an individual’s moral default.


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