Neuropsicología del trastorno de Tourette: cognición, neuroimagen y creatividad

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Tourette's disorder is the result of fronto-striatal brain dysfunction affecting people of all ages, with a debut in early childhood and continuing into adolescence and adulthood. DEVELOPMENT: This article reviews the main cognitive, functional neuroimaging and creativity-related studies in a disorder characterized by an excess of dopamine in the brain. CONCLUSIONS: Given the special cerebral configuration of these patients, neuropsychological alterations, especially in executive functions, should be expected. However, the findings are inconclusive and are conditioned by factors such as comorbidity with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, age or methodological variables. On the other hand, the neuroimaging studies carried out over the last decade have been able to explain the clinical symptoms of Tourette's disorder patients, with special relevance for the supplementary motor area and the anterior cingulate gyrus. Finally, although there is no linear relationship between excess of dopamine and creativity, the scientific literature emphasizes an association between Tourette's disorder and musical creativity, which could be translated into intervention programs based on music.