Tourette syndrome is a rare, neuropsychiatric disorder in which the patient suffers from involuntary tics and verbalizations, including the uncontrollable use of obscene language. Generally beginning in childhood, the illness disrupts normal life.
Weill Cornell researchers have located precisely in the brain where the tics of Tourette syndrome are generated. Drs. Emily Stern, assistant professor of radiology in psychiatry, and David Silbersweig, assistant professor of psychiatry, used a positron emission tomography (PET) technique to produce brain images of Tourette syndrome patients as they suffered from their spasmodic motions. They discovered that the tics were associated with activity in specific regions and circuits, including parts of the basal ganglia that are involved in controlling movement, and Broca's area, a brain center associated with the motor control of speech.
The doctors hope that their findings will result in the development of new therapies for Tourette syndrome.