Altered Fronto-Striato-Thalamic Connectivity in Children with Tourette Syndrome Assessed with Diffusion Tensor MRI and Probabilistic Fiber Tracking

The aim of the study was to determine whether abnormal connectivity of the fronto-striato-thalamic circuit underlies the morphological changes in subcortical structures of patients with Tourette syndrome and to correlate these changes with neurobehavioral measures. A total of 18 children with Touret...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of child neurology 2009-06, Vol.24 (6), p.669-678
Main Authors: Makki, Malek I., Munian Govindan, Rajkumar, Wilson, Benjamin J., Behen, Michael E., Chugani, Harry T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Brain - pathology
Caudate Nucleus - pathology
Child
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Frontal Lobe - pathology
Functional Laterality
Humans
Multivariate Analysis
Neural Pathways - pathology
Neuropsychological Tests
Obsessive Behavior - complications
Obsessive Behavior - pathology
Organ Size
Probability
Thalamus - pathology
Tourette Syndrome - complications
Tourette Syndrome - pathology
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Summary:The aim of the study was to determine whether abnormal connectivity of the fronto-striato-thalamic circuit underlies the morphological changes in subcortical structures of patients with Tourette syndrome and to correlate these changes with neurobehavioral measures. A total of 18 children with Tourette syndrome and 12 age-matched healthy controls underwent diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging. Tractography of the fronto-striato-thalamic circuit was achieved using probability distribution function of individual voxels. The Tourette syndrome group had significantly lower probability of connection between caudate nucleus and anterior-dorsolateral-frontal cortex on the left (P = .038). Obsessive-compulsive behavior was negatively associated with connectivity score of the left caudate and anterior dorsolateral frontal cortex (P = .01) and was positively associated with connectivity score for the subcallosal gyrus (P = .009) and for the lentiform nucleus (P = .008). The abnormal connectivity among components of the fronto-striato-thalamic circuit bilaterally (ie, seeds on the caudate and thalamus) in patients with Tourette syndrome provides direct evidence for the involvement of these circuits in the pathophysiology.
ISSN:0883-0738
1708-8283
DOI:10.1177/0883073808327838