Altered neurophysiologic response to intermittent theta burst stimulation in Tourette syndrome.

BACKGROUND

The motor system in Tourette syndrome has been found to be abnormal in previous fine-motor and neurophysiologic studies.

OBJECTIVE

This novel pilot study uses repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as a method to characterize the neurophysiology of the motor system in Tourette syndrome.

METHOD: We investigated the modulation of cortical excitability in adult Tourette syndrome patients by measuring motor-evoked potential amplitudes before and after applying intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation.

RESULTS

Motor-evoked potential amplitude changes over 1 and 10 minutes after intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation were greater in 11 healthy controls than 10 adult patients with Tourette syndrome (P = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

This altered neurophysiologic response to intermittent theta burst stimulation may contribute to the understanding of motor cortical mechanisms in Tourette syndrome.