Simon Morand-Beaulieu

McGill University | McGill · Department of Psychology

Depression is transmitted within families, but the mechanisms involved in such transmission are not clearly defined. A potential marker of familial risk is the neural response to errors, which may play a role in depression symptoms and is known to be partially heritable. Here, 97 mother-daughter dyads completed a Flanker task while electroencephalo...

Introduction: Behavioral therapies are recommended as a first-line intervention for Tourette syndrome and persistent motor or phonic tic disorder. Areas covered: In this review, the authors summarize randomized controlled trials on the comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics (CBIT), habit reversal therapy (HRT), and exposure and response...

In this, the tenth annual update for the F1000Research Tics collection, we summarize research reports from 2023 on Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. The authors welcome article suggestions and thoughtful feedback from readers.

In this, the tenth annual update for the F1000Research Tics collection, we summarize research reports from 2023 on Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. The authors welcome article suggestions and thoughtful feedback from readers.

Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) and Chronic Tic Disorder (CT) are neurodevelopmental conditions involving motor and/or phonic tics. Youth with tics may encounter feelings of isolation, diminished self-esteem and quality of life, and academic difficulties. A growing body of scientific literature suggests sex differences in youth with tics, but fi...

Background: Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is recommended as a first-line treatment for Tourette syndrome in children and adults. While there is strong evidence proving its efficacy, the mechanisms of reduction in tic severity during CBIT are still poorly understood. In a recent study, our group identified a functional brain...

Observational fear learning is common in children as they learn to fear by observing their parents. Although adaptive, it can also contribute to the development of fear-related psychopathologies such as anxiety disorders. Therefore, it is important to identify and study the factors that modulate children’s sensitivity to observational fear learning...

Objective Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is a first-line treatment of Tourette syndrome (TS). However, the brain mechanisms involved in CBIT are poorly understood. Enhanced frontomesial EEG coherence during a Go/NoGo task has been suggested as a mechanism involved in voluntary tic control. In the current study, we conducted a...

Inhibitory control is the most studied cognitive process in individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS). Some studies have reported decreased inhibitory control in people with TS and suggested that it may underlie an inability to correctly inhibit movements, resulting in chronic tics. Other studies have reported intact or enhanced performance in inhibi...

Aggressive behavior is common across childhood-onset psychiatric disorders and is associated with impairments in social cognition and communication. The present study examined whether amygdala connectivity and reactivity during face emotion processing in children with maladaptive aggression are moderated by social impairment. This cross-sectional s...

Tourette syndrome (TS) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently co-occur, especially in children. Reduced inhibitory control abilities has been suggested as a shared phenotype across both conditions but its neural underpinnings remain unclear. Here, we tested the behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of inhibitory con...

Event-related potentials (ERPs) constitute a useful and cost-effective method to assess the neural underpinnings of multiple cognitive processes. ERPs have been used to track changes in cognitive processes in longitudinal and clinical studies. However, few studies have assessed their test-retest reliability (i.e., their consistency across time). Th...

Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder involving chronic motor and phonic tics. Most individuals with Tourette syndrome can suppress their tics for at least a short period of time. Yet, the brain correlates of tic suppression are still poorly understood. Methods: In the current study, high-density electroencephalograph...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients are known to have various functional abnormalities in prefrontal and motor areas. Given the presence of compulsions in many OCD patients, impaired response preparation processes could be a core feature of OCD. Yet, these processes remain understudied from a neurophysiological standpoint. Nineteen OCD pat...

Observational fear learning can contribute to the development of fear-related psychopathologies, such as anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. Observational fear learning is especially relevant during childhood. Parent-child attachment and anxiety sensitivity modulate fear reactions and fear learning but their impact on observationa...

The biological mechanisms involved in fear transmission within families have been scarcely investigated in humans. Here we studied (1) how children acquired conditioned fear from observing their parent, or a stranger, being exposed to a fear conditioning paradigm, and (2) the subsequent fear extinction process in these children. Eighty-three child-...

Stress and fear are two fields of research that have evolved simultaneously. It was not until the eighties that these domains converged in order to better characterize the impact of stress on fear memory formation. Here, we reviewed the effects of stress occurring before fear acquisition on the main phases of fear conditioning protocols (acquisitio...

Le syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette est un trouble neurodéveloppemental qui est caractérisé par la présence de tics moteurs et sonores. Ces tics sont généralement plus présents durant l'enfance, et atteignent une sévérité maximale entre 10 et 12 ans. Les tics tendent à diminuer durant la fin de l'adolescence et l'âge adulte chez une majorité de pa...

Objectives: Tourette syndrome (TS) patients face various cognitive and motor impairments. Event-related potentials (ERP) constitute an effective way to investigate the neural correlates of those functional impairments. Various components have been assessed among TS patients, with a wide variety of paradigms. This systematic review aimed to evaluat...

Background: In recent years, cognitive-behavioral therapies have made important progress among available treatment options for Tourette syndrome (TS). One of these treatment, the cognitive-psychophysiological (CoPs) therapy, aims at regulating the chronically heightened sensorimotor activation and elevated muscle tension in TS patients. It has been...

Background:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) patientsare known to have various functional impairments in prefrontaland motor areas. For instance, larger readiness potential hasbeen previously found among OCD patients. Here, we proposeto use lateralized readiness potentials (LRP) to assess motorpreparation in OCD patients. In a stimulus-response c...

Context: Tourette syndrome (TS) is an important neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder which is mainly characterized by multiple motor and phonic tics. First-line treatments for TS symptoms are pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The latter has the advantage of presenting less adverse side effects, but may require more dedicati...

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) constitutes an empirically based treatment for tic disorders (TD), but much remains to be learned about its impact at the neural level. Therefore, we examined the electrophysiological correlates of CBT in TD patients, and we evaluated the utility of event-related potentials (ERP) as predictors of CBT outcome. ERPs...

For years, pharmacological treatments have been used as a first-line treatment of tics. However, such treatment often generates undesirable side effects. The emergence of cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT) involving the psychophysiological dimension appear as a significantly beneficial alternative for the reduction of tics and regulating muscle...

Le syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette (SGT) est un trouble neuropsychiatrique qui se distingue par la présence de nombreux tics moteurs et d'au moins un tic phonique. Les patients diagnostiqués avec le SGT sont souvent aux prises avec des problèmes au niveau des fonctions exécutives, une tension musculaire chroniquement élevée ou encore une difficul...

Neurocognitive functioning in Tourette syndrome (TS) has been the subject of intensive research in the past 30 years. A variety of impairments, presumably related to frontal and frontostriatal dysfunctions, have been observed. These impairments were found in various domains, such as attention, memory, executive functions, language, motor and visuom...

Tic disorders (TD) and body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB) have similar phenotypes that can be challenging to distinguish in clinical settings. Both disorders show high rates of comorbid psychiatric conditions, dysfunctional basal ganglia activity, atypical cortical functioning in the prefrontal and motor cortical regions, and cognitive defici...

Le syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette (SGT) est un trouble neuropsychiatrique caractérisé par la présence de tics moteurs et phoniques. À cela s’ajoute souvent de nombreuses comorbidités, certaines impliquant des comportements impulsifs : trouble déficitaire de l’attention avec ou sans hyperactivité (TDAH), trouble oppositionnel avec provocation, ép...

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder involving motor and phonic tics. Inhibitory control is a key issue in TS, and many disruptive or impulsive behaviors might arise from inhibitory deficits. However, conflicting findings regarding TS patients’ inhibitory performance in neuropsychological tasks have been reported throughout the lit...

A meta-analysis of inhibitory deficits during neuropsychological tasks in Tourette syndrome patients

Background. Tic disorders, such as the Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and persistent tic disorder, are neurodevelopmental movement disorders involving impaired motor control such as repetitive unwanted muscular contractions in one or more parts of the body. Our earlier findings showed that, following cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a normalizat...

Le syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette (SGT) est un trouble neuropsychiatrique affectant environ 1% de la population. Les patients qui en sont atteints sont aux prises avec des tics moteurs et vocaux, qui sont des gestes et des sons produits de manière non-volontaire. On retrouve aussi plusieurs comorbidités associées au SGT, comme le trouble obsessi...

Context Tic disorders (TD) are characterized by the presence of non-voluntary contractions of functionally related groups of skeletal muscles in one or multiple body parts. Patients with body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB) present frequent and repetitive behaviors, such as nail biting or hair pulling. TD and BFRB can be treated with a cognitiv...

Le syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette (SGT) et les comportements répétitifs centrés sur le corps (CRCC) sont deux conditions qui impliquent des mouvements répétitifs et une suractivation sensorimotrice. Plusieurs diagnostics sont considérés comme des CRCC : la trichotillomanie, l’excoriation, l’onychophagie, etc. Le SGT et les CRCC peuvent être trai...

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT) is considered an effective adjuvant to medication, but the cerebral effect of CBT has not so far been explored with patients afflicted by the Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS). According to recent investigations the SMA might play a role in sensory phenomenon happening before tics. But recent functional neuro...

The effect of a cognitive-psychophysiological therapy on event-related potentials of Tourette syndrome patients.

Tics are defined as involuntary and repetitive contractions of related groups of squelettal muscles. Their frequency can be exacerbated in certain situations or diminished in others. Chronic tics or the Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS) may be accompanied by concomitant disorders related to impulsivity. If one knows that the impulsivity variable...

Introduction and Objectives: Tic disorders, like Tourette Syndrome, are neurodevelopmental conditions afflicting up to 3%1 of children worldwide. Moreover, about 50%2 of patients will continue to experience symptoms through adulthood, hence lowering their quality of life and increasing the social stigma. In both children and adults, tic disorders’...

Le syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette (SGT) est un trouble neuropsychiatrique caractérisé par la présence de tics moteurs et phoniques. Cette condition peut être traitée par une thérapie cognitivocomportementale, basée sur la régulation de la suractivation sensorimotrice et de la tension musculaire. Les mécanismes physiologiques et comportementaux q...

Introduction : Le syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette (SGT) est un trouble neurodéveloppemental caractérisé par des tics moteurs et vocaux. Une altération des stratégies mnésiques a été avancée dans le SGT pour expliquer les déficits de mémoire épisodique. L’altération fonctionnelle du colliculus supérieur et de la voie frontostriée a été avancée pou...

The effect of a cognitive-behavioural therapy on self-ambivalence in Tourette syndrome patients

Comparaison des potentiels évoqués chez des patients atteints du syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette avec des tics simples ou complexes.

Évaluation des potentiels de latéralisation motrice avant et après une thérapie cognitivo-comportementale pour traiter les tics chez les patients atteints du syndrome de Gilles de la Tourette

Introduction: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder involving motor and phonic tics. Studies have shown that a therapy based on regulating the chronically heightened sensorimotor activation and elevated muscle tension could improve motor performance and general condition in TS patients. Still, physiological and behavioural mechanism...

Comparison of the event-related potentials of Tourette syndrome patients exhibiting either simple or complex tics

Activation and valence evaluation: On one hand, a non-significant memory factor indicated that memory showed no impact on the subjective evaluation of activation. On the other hand, the emotional valence influenced the subjective evaluation of activation [F(2,38) = 151.17, p < 0.001]. Thus, the subjective evaluation of activation was higher for pos...

Introduction: Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by both multiple motor tics and at least one phonic tic. Chronic tic disorder (CTD) is characterized by either motor or vocal tics, but not both. These two conditions are part of the ”tic disorders” category in the DSM. However, the distinction between these two condi...

Eye tracking study in Tourette syndrome patients

Event-related potentials in patients with either chronic tic disorder or body-focused repetitive behaviours

Event-related potentials in patients with either chronic tic disorder or body-focused repetitive behaviours