Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Thinning of sensorimotor cortices in children with Tourette syndrome

Nature Neuroscience volume 11, pages 637–639 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

The basal ganglia portions of cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuits have consistently been implicated in the pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome, whereas motor and sensorimotor cortices in these circuits have been relatively overlooked. Using magnetic resonance imaging, we detected cortical thinning in frontal and parietal lobes in groups of Tourette syndrome children relative to controls. This thinning was most prominent in ventral portions of the sensory and motor homunculi that control the facial, orolingual and laryngeal musculature that is commonly involved in tic symptoms. Correlations of cortical thickness in sensorimotor regions with tic symptoms suggest that these brain regions are important in the pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Cortical thickness group differences.
Figure 2: Symptom severity and cortical thickness.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Albin, R.L. & Mink, J.W. Trends Neurosci. 29, 175–182 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hyde, T.M. et al. Neurology 45, 1176–1182 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Peterson, B.S. et al. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 60, 415–424 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Fredericksen, K.A. et al. Neurology 58, 85–89 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Peterson, B.S. et al. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 58, 427–440 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Schieber, M.H. J. Neurophysiol. 86, 2125–2143 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Thompson, P.M. et al. Neuroimage 23 Suppl 1: S2–S18 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Sowell, E.R. et al. J. Neurosci. 24, 8223–8231 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Leckman, J.F. et al. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 28, 566–573 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Spessot, A. & Peterson, B.S. in Manual of Developmental Psychopathology (eds. D. Cichetti & D.J. Cohen) 436–469 (John Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Singer, H.S. & Minzer, K. Brain Dev. 25 Suppl 1: S70–S84 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Singer, H.S. et al. Neurology 43, 950–956 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Ziemann, U., Paulus, W. & Rothenberger, A. Am. J. Psychiatry 154, 1277–1284 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kalanithi, P.S. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102, 13307–13312 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Wonders, C.P. & Anderson, S.A. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 7, 687–696 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank J. Leckman, R. King and L. Scahill for helping to refer participants to the study. Funding support for this work was provided by a US National Institute of Mental Health grant (K01 MH01733) to E.R.S., a US National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Center for Research Resources resource grant (P41 RR013642), NIH Roadmap for Medical Research grant (U54 RR021813) and US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke grant (NS3753) to A.W.T., NIH grants (AG016570, LM05639, EB01651 and RR019771) to P.M.T., and National Institute of Mental Health grants (MHK02-74677, MH59139 and MH068318) to B.S.P.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, University of California, Los Angeles, 635 Charles Young Drive South, Suite 225, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Elizabeth R Sowell, Eric Kan, June Yoshii, Paul M Thompson & Arthur W Toga

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 74, New York, 10032, New York, USA

    Ravi Bansal, Dongrong Xu & Bradley S Peterson

Authors
  1. Elizabeth R Sowell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eric Kan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. June Yoshii
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Paul M Thompson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ravi Bansal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Dongrong Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Arthur W Toga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Bradley S Peterson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

The study was conceived and designed by E.R.S. and B.S.P., who also carried out the analysis and interpretation of the data and wrote the manuscript. A.W.T. and P.M.T. reviewed the manuscript and obtained funding for the study, along with E.R.S. and B.S.P. E.K., J.Y., D.X. and R.B. provided administrative, technical and material support. E.R.S. and B.S.P. had access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bradley S Peterson.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Text and Figures

Supplementary Figures S1, S2, Supplementary Table S1 and Supplementary Methods (PDF 7550 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sowell, E., Kan, E., Yoshii, J. et al. Thinning of sensorimotor cortices in children with Tourette syndrome. Nat Neurosci 11, 637–639 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2121

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2121

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing