Biomedicines, Vol. 11, Pages 980: The Role of the Left Inferior Parietal Cortex in Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome—An rTMS Study

Biomedicines, Vol. 11, Pages 980: The Role of the Left Inferior Parietal Cortex in Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome—An rTMS Study

Biomedicines doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11030980

Authors: Theresa Paulus Lynn Wernecke Annik Lundie Julia Friedrich Julius Verrel Tina Rawish Anne Weissbach Christian Frings Christian Beste Tobias Bäumer Alexander Münchau

Increased activity in the left inferior parietal cortex (BA40) plays a role in the generation of tics in the Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS). Thus, inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to BA40 was hypothesized to alleviate symptoms in GTS. We investigated the immediate effects of single-session 1 Hz rTMS and sham stimulation delivered to the left BA40 on tics assessed with the Rush video protocol in 29 adults with GTS. There were no significant effects on tic symptoms following rTMS or sham stimulation. Moreover, there was no difference when comparing the effects of both stimulation conditions. Bayesian statistics indicated substantial evidence against an intervention effect. The left BA40 appears not to be a useful target for 1 Hz rTMS to modulate tic symptoms in GTS patients.