title: [New impulses for tic research through international collaboration].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A section of the UMCG Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department is currently focusing much of its research on tic disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide an overview of the research projects on tic disorders being currently undertaken at our center.
  
  
  METHODS
  We discuss our research projects giving particular attention to factors that are restricting current research.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The first project is TIC Genetics, a project involving international collaboration. The researchers are looking for rare genetic variants in several family members who have tics and for new gene mutations in children who have tics but no family history of tics. TIC Genetics also investigates the interactions between genes and the environment. A second large-scale longitudinal project, the European Multicentre Tics in Children Study (EMTICS), is focusing on the interplay between genetics, auto-immunity, and environmental factors as a possible cause for the onset and exacerbation of tics. Finally, TS-EUROTRAIN is a European collaboration that concentrates on genetics, neuro-imaging and animal models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  International collaborations are essential if we are to acquire a deeper understanding of the etiology of tic disorders.
authors.forename: T J C
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Openneer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdulkadir
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Forde
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hoekstra
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D013981:Tic Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D020323:Tics; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology