SENSORIMOTOR GATING IN BOYS WITH TOURETTES-SYNDROME AND ADHD - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS

Deficits in sensorimotor gating, defined by prepulse inhibition (PPI), have been associated with subcortical dopaminergic overactivity in an imal and clinical studies, Utilizing supraorbital nerve electrical sti mulation, we produced adequate blink responses and measured decreases in amplitude resulting from electric prestimuli just above sensory thr eshold. Seven boys comorbid for attention-deficit hyperactivity disord er (ADHD) and a tic disorder had significantly reduced PPI, compared t o 14 screened controls and seven boys with ADHD alone. If independentl y replicated, these results may reflect greater neurologic immaturity in these comorbid subjects. Alternatively, these findings, together wi th other converging lines of evidence, suggest that deficient pallidal inhibition may be etiologically related so tic and movement disorders .