New research explains how those with Tourette syndrome are able to control their tics.

Part of the the brain that is involved in planning and carrying out movements displays an odd increase in comparison to the typical brain in the development of GABA, a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Stephen Jackson of the University of Nottingham and colleagues investigated the levels of brain chemicals in patients with Tourette syndrome using a technique known as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The researchers measured GABA in three areas of the brain – the primary motor cortex, the supplementary motor area, and a “control area.” They discovered that those with Tourette syndrome had heightened levels of GABA only in the SMA region of the brain.

“In Tourette syndrome, as in many other disorders, the brain may adapt and reorganize the way it works so as to reduce or compensate for the effects of the disorder. In this case, the effects of excitatory signals that give rise to cortical hyperexcitability and unwanted movements may be compensated for by increased levels of GABA which act to ‘damp-down’ or reduce excitability within a localized brain area,” said Jackson in a statement.

Since patients with Tourette syndrome produce more GABA than usual, this may suggest that non-medicinal treatments which increase the nerve messenger may increase the speed of the process whereby patients with Tourette syndrome naturally are able to gain control over their symptoms.

These findings suggest a possible advantage in that non-drug-related therapies can be targeted to the particular area of the brain where change is required, instead of the whole brain.

The findings of the study are published in the journal Current Biology.