TS-Eurotrain
Brain structure and functioning in 8-12 year old children with Tourette Syndrome
Children with tics often have co-occurring ADHD. So far, few studies have investigated the influence of co-occurring ADHD in relation to brain structure, functioning and neuropsychological tasks. And the aim of this study was to investigate the role ADHD in children with tic disorders. Another aim was to investigate the role of neurochemicals, such as glutamate.
The results
We did not observe atypical brain function in children with tics or children with ADHD. We mostly focused on the structure of brain networks and chemical characteristics, such as the neurotransmitter glutamate, and compared that between 8-12 year old children with tic disorders, children with ADHD and healthy children without tics or ADHD. One of our findings was that the amount of glutamate was higher in brain areas involved in the regulation of attention and emotion in the presence of compulsive symptoms.
We also investigated brain function and cognitive function in children with tics and children with ADHD. We mostly investigated brain activity during rest and during cognitive tests. We observed that several brain regions, implicated in behavior, are less active during rest in children with tics without comorbid ADHD compared to children with ADHD and healthy children. And we also discovered that children with tic disorders and comorbid ADHD and children with ADHD without tics experience more cognitive impairment than healthy children. Comorbid ADHD seems to have a negative influence on cognitive functioning in children with tic disorders, but not on the brain function during rest.
More results of the TS-EUROTRAIN study are expected in 2020.
Comorbid ADHD seems to have a negative influence on cognitive functioning in children with tic disorders, but not on the brain function during rest.
The research study
We collected data by means of neuropsychological tasks, MRI-scans, clinical interviews, and questionnaires. We compared three groups of children with a chronic tic disorder (n=60), ADHD (n=60) and healthy controls (n=60). This study was part of the TS-Eurotrain consortium, an initiative to investigate the genetic and neural causes of Tourette Syndrome.
Collaboration
Accare conducted this study in collaboration with UMCG, Karakter Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry and Donders Institute Nijmegen International consortium across Europe.