J Korean Med Sci.  2002 Aug;17(4):530-536. 10.3346/jkms.2002.17.4.530.

The Segmented Regional Volumes of the Cerebrum and Cerebellum in Boys with Tourette Syndrome

• Hong KE
• Ock SM
• Kang MH
• Kim CE
• Bae JN
• Lim MK
• Suh CH
• Chung SJ
• Cho SC
• Lee JS

• KMID: 1109764
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2002.17.4.530

Abstract

Neuropathological deficits are an etiological factor in Tourette syndrome (TS), and implicate a network linking the basal ganglia and the cerebrum, not a particular single brain region. In this study, the volumes of 20 cerebral and cerebellar regions and their symmetries were measured in normal boys and TS boys by brain magnetic resonance imaging. Brain magnetic resonance images were obtained prospectively in 19 boys with TS and 17 age-matched normal control boys. Cerebral and cerebellar regions were segmented to gray and white fractions using algorithm for semi-automated fuzzy tissue segmentation. The frontal, parietal, temporal, and the occipital lobes and the cerebellum were defined using the semiautomated Talairach atlas-based parcellation method. Boys with TS had smaller total brain volumes than control subjects. In the gray matter, although the smaller brain volume was taken into account, TS boys had a smaller right frontal lobe and a larger left frontal lobe and increased normal asymmetry (left>right). In addition, TS boys had more frontal lobe white matter. There were no significant differences in regions of interest of the parietal, temporal, or the occipital lobes or the cerebellum. These findings suggest that boys with TS may have neuropathological abnormalities in the gray and the white matter of the frontal lobe.

Keyword

Tourette Syndrome; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Frontal Lobe

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Analysis of Variance
Case-Control Studies
Cerebellum/*pathology
Child
Frontal Lobe/*pathology
Humans
Intelligence
Korea
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Regression Analysis
Tourette Syndrome/*pathology/physiopathology