Altered neurophysiologic response to intermittent theta burst stimulation in Tourette syndrome

BackgroundThe motor system in Tourette syndrome has been found to be abnormal in previous fine-motor and neurophysiologic studies.ObjectiveThis novel pilot study uses repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as a method to characterize the neurophysiology of the motor system in Tourette syndrome.MethodWe investigated the modulation of cortical excitability in adult Tourette syndrome patients by measuring motor-evoked potential amplitudes before and after applying intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation.ResultsMotor-evoked potential amplitude changes over 1 and 10 minutes after intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation were greater in 11 healthy controls than 10 adult patients with Tourette syndrome (P = 0.004).ConclusionsThis altered neurophysiologic response to intermittent theta burst stimulation may contribute to the understanding of motor cortical mechanisms in Tourette syndrome.