Cognitive and Brain Development in Adolescents With Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome

Overview

In children with neurodevelopmental disorders, adolescence is usually associated with a reshaping of the clinical picture and symptomatology. Tourette syndrome (TS) is a paradigmal neurodevelopmental syndrome characterised by involuntary paroxysmal movements (motor tics) and vocalisation (vocal tics) often associated with various psychiatric disorders. The neuronal and cognitive mechanisms associated with TS symptoms improvement during adolescence, or the persistence in adulthood remains unknown, and this is what we aim to address in this study.

Thus, the aims of the present project is threefold: Aim 1: To evaluate the maturation of cognitive functions in adolescents with TS compared to typically developing adolescents. To achieve this aim, three distinct cognitive dimensions will be assessed in all subjects (patients and controls): (i) reward sensitivity and habit formation; (ii) cognitive impulsivity and action control and (iii) self-agency. Aim 2: To identify neuronal correlates of cognitive function and brain development in health and disease. To achieve this aim, we will use a combined behavioural (as described in Aim 1), (i) neuroimaging and (ii) TMS approaches. Aim 3: To predict clinical outcome . In this part of the project we aim to identify behavioural, imaging or neurophysiological markers of clinical outcome in patients with TS.

Conditions