This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (77)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Genetics  • Genetic Disorders  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging  • Alert me on articles by topic

Bradley S. Peterson, MD; Lawrence Staib, PhD; Lawrence Scahill, MSN, PhD; Heping Zhang, PhD; Carol Anderson, PhD; James F. Leckman, MD; Donald J. Cohen, MD; John C. Gore, PhD; John Albert, BA; Rebecca Webster, BS

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58:427-440.

Background  The pathophysiology of Tourette syndrome (TS) is thought to involve disturbances in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuitry. The morphological characteristics of the cortical and associated white matter portions of these circuits have not been previously examined in TS subjects.

Methods  High-resolution anatomical magnetic resonance images were acquired in 155 TS and 131 healthy children and adults. The cerebrums and ventricles were isolated and then parcellated into subregions using standard anatomical landmarks.

Results  For analyses that included both children and adults, TS subjects were found to have larger volumes in dorsal prefrontal regions, larger volumes in parieto-occipital regions, and smaller inferior occipital volumes. Significant inverse associations of cerebral volumes with age were seen in TS subjects that were not seen in healthy controls. Sex differences in the parieto-occipital regions of healthy subjects were diminished in the TS group. The age-related findings were most prominent in TS children, whereas the diminished sex differences were most prominent in TS adults. Group differences in regional ventricular volumes were less prominent than in the cerebrum. Regional cerebral volumes were significantly associated with the severity of tic symptoms in orbitofrontal, midtemporal, and parieto-occipital regions.

Conclusions  Broadly distributed cortical systems are involved in the pathophysiology of TS. Developmental processes, sexual dimorphisms, and compensatory responses in these cortical regions may help to modulate the course and severity of tic symptoms.

From the Yale Child Study Center, the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.

Reprints: Bradley S. Peterson, MD, Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Rd, New Haven, CT 06520 (e-mail: bradley.peterson{at}yale.edu).

RELATED ARTICLE

Neuroimaging of Pediatric Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Is a Picture Really Worth a Thousand Words?
Jay N. Giedd
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58(5):443-444.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Anti-basal ganglia antibodies and Tourette's syndrome: a voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging study in an adult population
Martino et al.
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 2008;79:820-822.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Morphologic Features of the Amygdala and Hippocampus in Children and Adults With Tourette Syndrome
Peterson et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2007;64:1281-1291.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Developmental fMRI Study of Self-Regulatory Control in Tourette's Syndrome
Marsh et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2007;164:955-966.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Perinatal risk factors altering regional brain structure in the preterm infant
Thompson et al.
Brain 2007;130:667-677.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Tourette Syndrome: The Self Under Siege
Leckman et al.
J Child Neurol 2006;21:642-649.
ABSTRACT  

Neuroimaging of Tourette Syndrome
Frey and Albin
J Child Neurol 2006;21:672-677.
ABSTRACT  

Tic Disorders: Neural Circuits, Neurochemistry, and Neuroimmunology
Harris and Singer
J Child Neurol 2006;21:678-689.
ABSTRACT  

Ferritin Levels and Their Association With Regional Brain Volumes in Tourette's Syndrome
Gorman et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2006;163:1264-1272.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Hippocampus and Amygdala Morphology in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Plessen et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2006;63:795-807.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Adulthood Outcome of Tic and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Severity in Children With Tourette Syndrome
Bloch et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006;160:65-69.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Caudate volumes in childhood predict symptom severity in adults with Tourette syndrome
Bloch et al.
Neurology 2005;65:1253-1258.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Habit Learning in Tourette Syndrome: A Translational Neuroscience Approach to a Developmental Psychopathology
Marsh et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2004;61:1259-1268.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Altered Interhemispheric Connectivity in Individuals With Tourette's Disorder
Plessen et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2004;161:2028-2037.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Neuroimaging of Developmental Psychopathologies: The Importance of Self-Regulatory and Neuroplastic Processes in Adolescence
SPESSOT et al.
Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 2004;1021:86-104.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Amygdala and Hippocampal Volumes in Adolescents and Adults With Bipolar Disorder
Blumberg et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003;60:1201-1208.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Basal Ganglia Volumes in Patients With Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome
Peterson et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003;60:415-424.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Simple phonic tic in multiple sclerosis
Lana-Peixoto et al.
Mult Scler 2002;8:510-511.
ABSTRACT  

A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Language Processing and Its Cognitive Correlates in Prematurely Born Children
Peterson et al.
Pediatrics 2002;110:1153-1162.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Disproportionate increases of white matter in right frontal lobe in Tourette syndrome
Fredericksen et al.
Neurology 2002;58:85-89.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Neuroimaging of Pediatric Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Is a Picture Really Worth a Thousand Words?
Giedd
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2001;58:443-444.
FULL TEXT