<p>Social communication deficits and restricted repetitive behavior symptoms in Tourette syndrome</p>

Abstract

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been found to occur more frequently in individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) than in the general population. Similarities exist between ASD and TS clinically, which suggests a potential relationship between the two conditions. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the occurrence of autism-related features in ASD and TS, focusing on areas of overlap and difference. Patients and methods: This study examined the nature and extent of autistic traits as measured by the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) in a sample with a diagnosis of TS, a sample diagnosed to have ASD, and a normative general population sample. Results: The TS sample had significantly higher mean SCQ scores than the general population, but generally lower scores than the ASD sample. The group differences in mean SCQ scores between the TS and ASD sample were significant except in the domain of restricted repetitive behaviours (RRB). Conclusion: This suggests that ASD traits occur commonly in the TS population, with a significant overlap in certain clinical features. This was especially the case for complex movements or repetitive behaviours, which may represent either: i) a shared phenotype which is subclinical, ii) a phenocopy where some clinical symptoms mimic each other, or iii) a co-morbidity. Awareness of this association can be useful in identifying these symptoms as part of the comprehensive assessment of TS and addressing these to improve the overall clinical outcomes in these patients.

European clinical guidelines for Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders—version 2.0. Part I: assessment

“…Specifically, children with clinicians’ diagnosis of TS plus OCD exhibited elevated SRS scores indicating symptom overlap between assessments of OCD and ASD on this scale. Fully in line with these results, the two studies in TS adults investigating underlying factor structure across scales on tics, OC symptoms, ADHD and autistic symptoms [ 59 , 68 ] revealed strikingly similar results, with one overlapping factor between OC and autistic symptoms, defined by the numbers and patterns subscale of the autism self-report.…”

Behavioral tests assessing neuropsychiatric phenotypes in adolescent mice reveal strain- and sex-specific effects

“…In short, at P36, the high activity of FVB/N mice indicated by increased locomotion and average speed is consistent with previous studies in adult mice 27 . Repetitive behaviors are associated with ASD 38 and other neuropsychiatric disorders including ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder 39 . The increased repetitive rearing and climbing behavior in FVB/N mice may mask the repetitive behavioral endophenotype of these disorders in gene-modified FVB/N mouse models.…”

Disentangling Restrictive and Repetitive Behaviors and Social Impairments in Children and Adolescents with Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…However, another possibility exists that certain symptoms may be duplicated due to environmental or other factors rather than due to a common genetic basis. The similarities could be due to a phenocopy rather than phenotypic overlap as suggested by Eapen et al [25].…”

“…More recently, Eapen et al [25] in a sample of 203 participants, 44 with GTS and 26 with ASD compared to the general sample of 133 with a mean age of 18.17 years, examined the occurrence of autism related features measured by the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) focusing on areas of overlap and differences.…”