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Individual Differences in Functional Brain Network Integration in Tourette Syndrome: An Exploratory Precision Mapping Study in a Sibling Pair

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Damion Demeter¹ (ddemeter@ucsd.edu), Abigail Baim¹, Ji Hyuk Ahn¹, Julia Wang¹, Sujin Park¹, Sarah Chang¹, Jonathan Ahern¹, Sana Ali¹, Emily Koithan¹, Deanna Greene¹; ¹University of California, San Diego

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics, with substantial heterogeneity in symptom expression and associated neural mechanisms. Prior neuroimaging work implicates disruptions in cortico-subcortical and motor control systems. However, traditional group-average approaches may obscure meaningful individual differences. Precision functional mapping (PFM) leverages dense, within-individual fMRI sampling to generate highly reliable functional network measurement, offering a powerful tool for studying individualized network architecture in TS. We present an exploratory analysis of PFM data from a sibling pair: one child with primarily eye-blink tics (M, 10 yrs), and his typically developing sibling (F, 13 yrs). Participants underwent 4 resting-state fMRI visits, yielding >45 minutes of low-motion, post-processed data. Functional connectivity (FC) analyses focused on network topology and connectivity, emphasizing somatomotor and cognitive control networks implicated in motor control. Preliminary findings reveal FC variants (regions differing from group averages) in bilateral frontal cortex, temporo-occipito-parietal junction, and the cingulate gyrus in both siblings. Differences between siblings were found in motor regions with patterns potentially relevant to tic expression. We highlight network integration and topology not readily captured by group-average approaches. While exploratory, these results highlight the sensitivity of PFM to individual-level differences in brain network organization relevant to tic expression. This work demonstrates the feasibility and potential value of applying PFM to the study of TS and other neurodevelopmental disorders, emphasizing individualized network architecture. PFM may provide insights into phenotypic heterogeneity and inform future personalized intervention strategies.

Topic Area: METHODS: Neuroimaging