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Blink reflex abnormalities in Tourette syndrome.

Rocco Raffaele1, Ignazio Vecchio, Alessandro Alvano

  • 1Department of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Azienda Policlinico-Neurologia, via S. Sofia 78, 95125 Catania, Italy.

Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
|January 28, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Neurophysiological blink reflex abnormalities are common in Tourette syndrome (TS) patients. However, these blink reflex changes do not correlate with the severity of TS symptoms.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurophysiology

Background:

  • Tourette syndrome (TS) is a complex tic disorder with childhood onset.
  • Current diagnostic methods for TS lack definitive objective markers.
  • Investigating neurophysiological correlates may aid in understanding TS.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if neurophysiological blink reflex abnormalities are present in TS patients.
  • To assess the correlation between these blink reflex abnormalities and TS severity.

Main Methods:

  • Seventeen TS patients and ten healthy controls were studied.
  • Blink reflex was elicited via supraorbital nerve stimulation.
  • Measurements included R1 and R2 responses, their latencies, R1 amplitude, and R2 duration; tic severity was rated using TSSL, YGTSS, and TSGS.

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Main Results:

  • TS patients exhibited a significantly longer mean R2 duration compared to controls (P<0.01).
  • No significant differences were found in R1/R2 latencies or R1 amplitude between groups.
  • No significant correlation was observed between R2 duration and clinical tic severity scores (TSSL, YGTSS, TSGS).

Conclusions:

  • Abnormal blink reflex excitability patterns are frequent in Tourette syndrome.
  • These neurophysiological findings are not associated with the clinical severity of TS.