Normal response inhibition in boys with Tourette syndrome

BACKGROUND: Inhibitory deficits are often a matter of debate in the pathophysiology of Tourette syndrome (TS). Previous neuropsychological studies on behavioral inhibition revealed equivocal results. METHODS: To overcome existing shortcomings (e.g. confounders like medication status, comorbid conditions) we compared medication naïve boys (10–14 years) suffering exclusively from TS with age, gender and IQ matched healthy controls using a highly demanding Go/Nogo task that controls for novelty effects. RESULTS: The performance did not differ between boys with TS and healthy boys. CONCLUSION: In TS normal response inhibition performance as measured by a Go/Nogo task can be assumed. However, there might be neurophysiological abnormalities in TS possibly related to compensatory mechanisms to control for tics. Hence, further studies combining neuropsychological and neurophysiological methods (e.g. electroencephalography, fMRI) using the same strictly controlled design along the whole range of development and tic severity are recommended.