I came across an article online earlier which describes the results of a recent research study into Tourettes, based on some earlier findings. The researchers used MRI to look at the area of the brain responsible for controlling movement and they found there were differences in the white matter connections between people with Tourettes and those without. These changes were increasingly marked in people with more severe tics. The strange thing is that these differences ought to indicate that Tourettes brains have greater motor control, not less. The researchers believe that it might be the battle to control tics that makes the differences occur.

While this study is very interesting, theoretical superior motor control isn’t much use if you can’t carry a glass of water from one room to another.