Deep brain stimulation for Tourette syndrome: modulation of the limbic-motor interface network

OBJECTIVE Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment for medically refractory Tourette syndrome (TS). Several effective targets have been reported, but there is still controversy about the networks involved in the efficacy of DBS for TS. Here, the authors aimed to identify the basal ganglia–thalamo-cortical networks associated with tic and obsessive-compulsive behavior (OCB) improvement and the network link between the two main targets for TS. METHODS A retrospective analysis of 21 patients treated with pallidal and thalamic DBS was performed. Tics and OCB scores were recorded before and after DBS. The authors localized the electrodes in standard MNI (Montreal Neurological Institute) space and calculated the volume of tissue activated with the settings at the last follow-up to obtain areas of maximal improvement (“sweet spots”) among all patients for the pallidal and thalamic targets. Tractography was used to show the white matter pathways associated with maximal tic and OCB improvement. RESULTS Ten patients treated with pallidal DBS and 11 patients treated with thalamic DBS were included. Responder rates were 80% in the pallidal and 64% in the thalamic target groups. Sweet spots for tics and OCB clustered in several areas across the basal ganglia and thalamus delineated two main networks. Tic reduction in the pallidal target mapped to a limbic pallidothalamic network and in the thalamic target to the premotor thalamocortical network. Putting these two networks together will form the main output of the so-called limbic-motor interface network. However, OCB reduction mapped a dorsomedial prefrontal cortex/dorsal anterior cingulate (dmPFC/dACC) network. CONCLUSIONS The authors demonstrated the involvement of the limbic-motor interface network during effective DBS for tics in patients with TS. OCB redution was associated with the additional involvement of dmPFC/dACC connections passing dorsal to the head of the globus pallidus pars externa on its way to the thalamus and midbrain.