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Empathy and aversion: the neural signature of mentalizing in Tourette syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2016

C. M. Eddy ,
A. E. Cavanna  and
P. C. Hansen
C. M. Eddy*
Affiliation:
BSMHFT National Centre for Mental Health, Birmingham, UK College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
A. E. Cavanna
Affiliation:
BSMHFT National Centre for Mental Health, Birmingham, UK College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
P. C. Hansen
Affiliation:
Birmingham University Imaging Centre and School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr C. M. Eddy, Senior Research Fellow in Neuropsychiatry, Research and Innovation, The Barberry, 25 Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2FG, UK. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Previous studies suggest that adults with Tourette syndrome (TS) can respond unconventionally on tasks involving social cognition. We therefore hypothesized that these patients would exhibit different neural responses to healthy controls in response to emotionally salient expressions of human eyes.

Method

Twenty-five adults with TS and 25 matched healthy controls were scanned using fMRI during the standard version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task which requires mental state judgements, and a novel comparison version requiring judgements about age.

Results

During prompted mental state recognition, greater activity was apparent in TS within left orbitofrontal cortex, posterior cingulate, right amygdala and right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), while reduced activity was apparent in regions including left inferior parietal cortex. Age judgement elicited greater activity in TS within precuneus, medial prefrontal and temporal regions involved in mentalizing. The interaction between group and task revealed differential activity in areas including right inferior frontal gyrus. Task-related activity in the TPJ covaried with global ratings of the urge to tic.

Conclusions

While recognizing mental states, adults with TS exhibit greater activity than controls in brain areas involved in the processing of negative emotion, in addition to reduced activity in regions associated with the attribution of agency. In addition, increased recruitment of areas involved in mental state reasoning is apparent in these patients when mentalizing is not a task requirement. Our findings highlight differential neural reactivity in response to emotive social cues in TS, which may interact with tic expression.

Keywords

Emotionsocial cognitiontheory of mindticsTourette syndrome
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 47 , Issue 3 , February 2017 , pp. 507 - 517
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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