The Psychopathology of Gilles de la Tourette's Syndrome
ARTHUR K. SHAPIRO M.D.1,
ELAINE SHAPIRO PH.D.2,
HENRIETTE WAYNE M.D., SC.D.3, , and
JOHN CLARKIN PH.D.4
1 Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Special Studies Laboratory, Special Studies Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College, 525 East 68th St., New York, N.Y. 10021
2 Research Associate, Special Studies Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College, 525 East 68th St., New York, N.Y. 10021
3 Clinical Associate Professor, Special Studies Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College, 525 East 68th St., New York, N.Y. 10021
4 Assistant Professor, Special Studies Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College, 525 East 68th St., New York, N.Y. 10021
Psychiatric and psychological evaluations were performed for 34 patients with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome. The major psychopathological factors reported in the literature as being etiologic to Tourette's syndrome were not confirmed by the authors' data. Although many patients exhibited some of these traits, the traits appeared to be a psychological response to the illness rather than a factor in the etiology. The authors concluded that psychopathological and dynamic factors were unimportant in the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of Tourette's syndrome.
