FOR 2698: Cognitive theory for Tourette syndrome – a novel perspective

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Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a common multifaceted neuropsychiatric disorder with motorand vocal tics including echo- and coprophenomena as cardinal and defining clinical features. Despitean abundance of neuroscientific studies in children and adults with GTS, no generally acceptedconcept of tics or GTS has emerged. In the first funding period, we examined the suitability of acognitive framework (i.e., the Theory of Event Coding) to conceptualize tics and other associatedphenomena in GTS. We could confirm our major hypothesis that GTS can be characterized by ahyperbinding of perception and action processes and that such alterations are central for theunderstanding of GTS. In the second funding period, we will build on these results and will addressimportant open questions that are related to four major research fields examined in complementaryprojects: (i) We will examine the feasibility to modulate perception-action binding as part of (novel)treatment approaches. (ii) We will examine the question of how binding is modulated in remitting vs.persisting GTS. (iii) We will address what role binding vs. retrieval processes play in perception-actionintegration in patients with GTS. (iv) We will also transfer event files coding mechanisms from thecognitive to the socio-affective domain. In all projects, we will put a special emphasis on theinvestigation of neurophysiological processes underlying the examined dynamics. The secondfunding period is intended to establish the basis for a transfer of the validated cognitive-theoreticalconceptualization of GTS into clinical applications.