Tourette Syndrome (TS) is characterized by an inability to control movement, which many times involved hyperactivity, irregular motor patterns, learning difficulties, vocal tics, and OCD. It is thought to be onset by a malfunctioning of the basal ganglia and other cortical circuitry, which leads to motor patterns being disorganized within the patient’s brain. This study aims to examine the motor activation of a TS individual through a functional MRI scan while performing voluntary movements. The researchers hypothesized that because TS is characterized by involuntary movements, they would find less activation in the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), which normally would co-ordinate, prepare, and execute movements. In this study, the researchers …show more content…
The other independent variable was the 2 types of finger tapping tasks, usual and unusual, where the usual task involved tapping with the index finger, and tapping with the pinky finger for the unusual task (both with the right hand). In each type of motor task, the tapping speed was measured, which represents the dependant variable. Another dependant variable was the cortical activation within the patient’s brain, which was measured using an fMRI test. The results for the control patient showed, in the unusual task, increased premotor cortex activity (PMA) and SMA. This same activation was slightly different for the usual task, where the PMA was activated much more than the SMA. However, for the TS patient, the high PMA and SMA activation was seen for the usual and unusual tasks. The researchers also noticed that the TS patient showed no tics whatsoever when they were performing either of the tasks. Usually, more SMA activation is associated with increased difficulty of any particular task, when the subject has to actively think about performing the task. So, because the SMA was activated in the TS patient equally for the usual and unusual task, this could suggest that they have to put more effort into “usual” movements than
Tics are the most common symptom of Tourette syndrome. A tic is an involuntary, repetitive movement of muscles usually in the face, neck, shoulders, trunk and hands (Diane, 2011, p.662). Symptoms of Tourette syndrome is often first noticed during childhood, between ages 7 and 10. Most children with Tourette syndrome also have other medical problems such as ADHD and OCD Tourette syndrome exhibit multiple behavioral symptoms including ADHD and OCD, which, like Tourette syndrome, are clinically diagnosed without testing (Chiu, 2013, p.406). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, motor and vocal tics are classified as simple or complex (Diane, 2011, p.663). Simple motor tics include eye blinking, neck jerking, shoulder shrugging, head banging, head turning, tongue protrusion, nail biting, hair pulling, and facial grimacing (Diane, 2011, p.663). Some examples of complex motor tics are facial gestures, grooming behaviors, hitting or biting oneself, jumping, hopping, touching, squatting, retracing steps, smelling an object, and imitating the movements of ...
Rowland, Lewis P. (ed.): Merritt's Textbook of Neurology, eighth edition. Lea and Febiger. Philadelphia, 1959, pp. 630--631.
One out of every 360 children have Tourettes. Tourette’s is a neurological disorder, which means that it takes place in the nervous system. It affects males three to four times more than females. There’s no exact known reason as to why. Symptoms begin at ages three to nine, and typically, the first sign is excessive blinking. This
Tourette’s syndrome is a disorder where the affected individual will consistently exhibit “tics”. In the majority of cases these ticks are minor in character, it may just be the urge to blink, or make certain facial gestures. Less than 15% of individuals exhibit coprolalia, which is the unwarranted exclamations of profanities or other socially forbidden remarks. Perhaps those in our generation who are aware of Tourette’s syndrome have learned its symptoms through pop culture, which has glamorized (to some extent) the more severe cases of Tourette’s syndrome in YouTube videos or the animated satire of South Park. Most with Tourette’s syndrome have been diagnosed 5-8 years in childhood and experience the waning of the number and severity of tics by the time the graduate high school. For the most part, Tourette’s syndrome alone will not prevent an individual from success in the institutions of society, as it doesn’t affect the intelligence or capability of individuals. These cases, often called pure TS cases, are usually the exception. More often than not, sufferers of Tourette’s syndrome are more limited socially by common comorbid conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders.
EEG, MEG and TMS are methods that have allowed the detection of motor neuron activation during the observation of actions performed by others and therefore mirror-like activity. Other techniques like positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), rely on recordings of variations in blood flow in various cerebral regions during performance and observation of given motor acts, and have made it possible to localize a mirror neuron system for action (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004; Sinigaglia & Sparaci, 2010). There is increasing evidence from neuroimaging studies that core components of a human mirror neuron syste...
The frontal lobe comprises a third of the brain and it enables us to engage in higher cognitive functions such as planning and problem solving (Jonides & Smith, 1999). The frontal lobe is divided into 3 regions, the motor cortex, premotor cortex, and prefrontal cortex. The motor cortex is located in the precentral gyrus and directs fine motor coordination. The premotor cortex is involved in planning, organizing, and integrating body movements. The prefrontal is involved in executive functions, including short-term memory, working memory, decision making, and prioritizing behaviors (Wilson, 2003). Some of the frontal lobe disorders than can cause brain damage and behavioral changes are Huntington’s disease, infection, stroke, tourettes, dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, tumors, closed head injury and traumatic brain injury (Chow, 2000).
Kanske, P., Heissler, J., Schönfelder, S., Forneck, J., & Wessa, M. (2013). Neural correlates of
The nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord of the central nervous system and the ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. The functional unit of the nervous system is a neuron. It is estimated 100 billion neurons reside in the brain with some neurons making anywhere between 10,000 to 100,000 connections with other cells! A distinctive class of neurons, mirror neurons discharge both when the individual executes a motor action and when he/she observes another individual performing that same or similar action. These mirror neurons were discovered by neurophysiologists in the 1990s at the University of Parma, Italy. Using macaque monkeys, these researchers found that neurons of the rostral part of the inferior premotor cortex were activated both when the monkey made goal-directed hand movements (grasping, holding, & tearing) and when the monkey observed specific hand movements done by the experimenters (Pellegrino, et al., 1992). In a monkey’s inferior frontal and inferior parietal cortex, it is estimated that about 10% of neurons have “mirror” properties.
Neurodevelopmental theory (NDT) informs clinical reasoning through the concepts of motor control, brain plasticity, motor learning and an understanding of functional human movement (Meadows & Williams, 2013). By identifying atypical movement patterns the therapist is able to select interventions, which will facilitate Sue in developing greater symmetry in her body and correct movement patterns. (Barthel, 2009; Feaver & Ezekiel, 2011). This influences the practice of interventions in NDT by applying moment-to-moment observations of Sue throughout treatment, in order to gage her reactions and adjusting interventions accordingly (Barthel, 2009). Barthel (2009) and Case-smith, Law, Missiuna, Pollock and Stewart (2010), defines NDT as a hand’s on approach to intervention, focusing on physically assisting Sue in the development of active and passive movement using key points of control during activities. This is used to facilitate Sue to engage in more normal movement patterns
The motor strip works with other motor areas such as the premotor cortex, the supplementary motor area, posterior parietal cortex, and several subcortical brain regions all to produce movements. The frontal lobe sends a signal to the motor strip, and before the person knows it, they’re drinking from a cup. Sending the signal successfully is in thanks to the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum sends nerves that connect and share information between the two hemispheres of the brain. Damage to these nerves results in things such as alien hand syndrome. This damage most often happens during brain aneurysms, in stroke patients and those with infections of the brain, but can also as a side effect of brain surgery, commonly after a radical procedure, often procedures that treat extreme cases of epilepsy. When the callosum is damaged in anyway, it leaves different sections of the brain disconnected and not able to communicate with the other half. With alien hand syndrome, one hand functions normally, carrying out wanted tasks without signaling the other hand, resulting in a hand that can act on its own, sometimes in dysfunctional and unwanted ways. The left hemisphere, which controls the right arm and leg, tends to be where language
Neuropsychologists study brain behavior relationships under very specific circumstances which are both controlled and standardized. As a general rule, this means using tests which have been validated and which have been shown to have acceptable levels of sensitivity and specificity. This means the test can measure the thing it is trying to measure even when the thing it is trying to measure is only present in small amounts and it also means the test can distinguish the thing it is trying to measure from other things.
Stuss and colleagues (2002) argue that clinical neuropsychology at its simplest is “the understanding of brain-behaviour links and their applications to clinical situations”. In their review of the history of clinical neuropsychology, they speak of three fields that have contributed to our current understanding of brain behaviour links including 1) behavioural neurology, 2) neuropsychiatry and 3) clinical neuropsychology. Within these disciplines, a range of techniques are used to investigate loca...
Sullivan, S. J., Hammond-Tooke, G. D., Schneiders, A. G., Gray, A. R., & McCrory, P. (2012). The diagnostic accuracy of selected neurological tests. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 19. 423-427. doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2011.09.011
Khalil, A., & Malik, S. (2013). Movement disorders and tremors. InnovAiT: The RCGP Journal for Associates in Training, 6(7), 416-424.
...stingly, the same type of brain arousal takes place whether people actually do finger tapping or only imagine it.