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Neuroimaging of tic disorders with co-existing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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Abstract

Background

Tourette syndrome (TS) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are common and debilitating neuropsychiatric illnesses that typically onset in the preschool years. Recently, both conditions have been subject to neuroimaging studies, with the aim of understanding their underlying neurobiological correlates.

Objective

The relation of TS and ADHD is discussed against the background of findings from previous Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies.

Methods

We review the designs and major findings of previous studies that have examined TS with comorbid ADHD, and we briefly contrast these findings with those in ADHD without comorbid tic disorders.

Results

The frequent comorbidity of TS and ADHD may reflect a common underlying neurobiological substrate, and studies confirm the hypothesized involvement of fronto-striatal circuits in both TS and ADHD. However, poor inhibitory control and volumetric reductions in fronto-striatal circuits appear to be core features of ADHD, whereas reduced volumes of the caudate nucleus, together with activation and hypertrophy of prefrontal regions that likely help to suppress tics, seem to be core features of TS.

Conclusion

The etiological relationship between TS and ADHD must be clarified further with cross-sectional and, if possible, longitudinal imaging studies that examine samples of substantial size, including subgroups with pure TS and ADHD, as well as with comorbid conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Bergen, Norway, and in part by a grant from the Tourette Syndrome Association, NIMH grants MH01232, MH59139, MH068318, and K02-74677, the Suzanne Crosby Murphy Endowment at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Thomas D. Klingenstein & Nancy D. Perlman Family Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7800, 5020, Bergen, Norway

    Kerstin J. Plessen M.D.

  2. Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Kerstin J. Plessen M.D., Jason M. Royal D.M.A. & Bradley S. Peterson M.D.

  3. Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

    Kerstin J. Plessen M.D.

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Plessen, K.J., Royal, J.M. & Peterson, B.S. Neuroimaging of tic disorders with co-existing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 16 (Suppl 1), 60–70 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-007-1008-2

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