Alterations in the microstructure of white matter in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome measured using tract-based spatial statistics and probabilistic tractography

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior
Hilmar P SigurdssonStephen R Jackson

Abstract

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by repetitive and intermittent motor and vocal tics. TS is thought to reflect fronto-striatal dysfunction and the aetiology of the disorder has been linked to widespread alterations in the functional and structural integrity of the brain. The aim of this study was to assess white matter (WM) abnormalities in a large sample of young patients with TS in comparison to a sample of matched typically developing control individuals (CS) using diffusion MRI. The study included 35 patients with TS (3 females; mean age: 14.0 ± 3.3) and 35 CS (3 females; mean age: 13.9 ± 3.3). Diffusion MRI data was analysed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and probabilistic tractography. Patients with TS demonstrated both marked and widespread decreases in axial diffusivity (AD) together with altered WM connectivity. Moreover, we showed that tic severity and the frequency of premonitory urges (PU) were associated with increased connectivity between primary motor cortex (M1) and the caudate nuclei, and increased information transfer between M1 and the insula, respectively. This is to our knowledge the first study to employ both TBSS and probabilistic tractography in a sample ...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 21, 2020·Translational Neurodegeneration·Wenying XuBomin Sun
Sep 12, 2019·F1000Research·Olivia RoseKevin J Black
Jan 20, 2021·Experimental Brain Research·Adrienne B BruceSteve W Wu
Aug 24, 2021·Journal of Neuroendocrinology·Marco BortolatoSimona Scheggi
May 30, 2021·Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society·Rachel E SondergaardDavide Martino

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
SMA

Software Mentioned

DTIFIT
Camino
FSL
FAST
Graphvar
FDT
TBSS
Brain Connectivity Toolbox
Brain Extraction Tool ( BET

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