CBT influences Tourette’s
10th May 2011
By Staff Writer
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can have a significant positive impact on Tourette’s syndrome, both reducing tics and stimulating brain activity, a small Canadian study has found.
The study included 10 adults with Tourette’s syndrome and another 14 adults matched for age and intelligence with no neurological or psychiatric problems.
Participants performed a series of experimental tasks designed to stimulate specific regions of the brain. They repeated the tasks six months later after receiving CBT.
The follow-up showed that not only did the patients with Tourette’s syndrome experience a significant reduction in tics, there was also a quantifiable normalisation in brain activity.
Int J Cogn Ther 2011; 4:34-50