A critical role of action-related functional networks in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS) is a chronic tic disorder, characterized by unwanted motor actions and vocalizations. While brain stimulation techniques show promise in reducing tic severity, optimal target networks are not well-defined. Here, we leverage datasets from two independent deep brain stimulation (DBS) cohorts and a cohort of tic-inducing lesions to infer critical networks for treatment and occurrence of tics by mapping stimulation sites and lesions to a functional connectome derived from 1,000 healthy participants. We find that greater tic reduction is linked to higher connectivity of DBS sites (N = 37) with action-related functional resting-state networks, i.e., the cingulo-opercular (r = 0.62; p < 0.001) and somato-cognitive action networks (r = 0.47; p = 0.002). Regions of the cingulo-opercular network best match the optimal connectivity profiles of thalamic DBS. We replicate the significance of targeting cingulo-opercular and somato-cognitive action network connectivity in an independent DBS cohort (N = 10). Finally, we demonstrate that tic-inducing brain lesions (N = 22) exhibit similar connectivity to these networks. Collectively, these results suggest a critical role for these action-related networks in the pathophysiology and treatment of GTS.