Altered fronto-striato-thalamic connectivity in children with Tourette syndrome assessed with diffusion tensor MRI and probabilistic fiber tracking

MI Makki, R Munian Govindan… - Journal of Child …, 2009 - journals.sagepub.com
MI Makki, R Munian Govindan, BJ Wilson, ME Behen, HT Chugani
Journal of Child Neurology, 2009journals.sagepub.com
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 …
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.
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