The segmented regional volumes of the cerebrum and cerebellum in boys with Tourette syndrome.
Neuropathological deficits are an etiological factor in Tourette syndrome (TS), and implicate a network linking the basal ganglia and the cerebrum, not a particular single brain region. In this study, the volumes of 20 cerebral and cerebellar regions and their symmetries were measured in normal boys and TS boys by brain magnetic resonance imaging. Brain magnetic resonance images were obtained prospectively in 19 boys with TS and 17 age-matched normal control boys. Cerebral and cerebellar regions were segmented to gray and white fractions using algorithm for semi-automated fuzzy tissue segmentation. The frontal, parietal, temporal, and the occipital lobes and the cerebellum were defined using the semiautomated Talairach atlas-based parcellation method. Boys with TS had smaller total brain volumes than control subjects. In the gray matter, although the smaller brain volume was taken into account, TS boys had a smaller right frontal lobe and a larger left frontal lobe and increased normal asymmetry (left>right). In addition, TS boys had more frontal lobe white matter. There were no significant differences in regions of interest of the parietal, temporal, or the occipital lobes or the cerebellum. These findings suggest that boys with TS may have neuropathological abnormalities in the gray and the white matter of the frontal lobe.
Hong
Kang-E
KE
Department of Psychiatry, Inha University Hospital and College of Medicine, University, Incheon, Korea.
Ock
Sun-Myeong
SM
Kang
Min-Hee
MH
Kim
Chul-Eung
CE
Bae
Jae-Nam
JN
Lim
Myung-Kwan
MK
Suh
Chang-Hae
CH
Chung
Sun-Ju
SJ
Cho
Soo-Churl
SC
Lee
Jeong-Seop
JS
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007723:Korea; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology