Hypothesis III. Tourette syndrome is only one of several causes of a developmental basal ganglia syndrome
D. Palumbo, A. Maughan and R. Kurlan
Department of Neurology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY, USA.
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a hereditary condition characterized by the
presence of chronic, multiple motor tics and is commonly associated with
obessive-compulsive behavior, attentional and executive dysfunction, and
aggressive behavior. A wide range of other genetic and environmental
conditions that interfere with normal basal ganglia developmental processes
can produce a clinical syndrome that we call the developmental basal
ganglia syndrome (DBGS), and which closely resembles TS. Failure to
distinguish TS from other causes of DBGS has probably hampered research
efforts aimed at clarifying the neurobiological mechanisms, localizing the
genetic defect, assessing therapy, and establishing accurate prevalence
rates for TS.
