Tourette's is associated with increased what neurotransmitter?

• A. Decreased dopamine
• B. Increased dopamine
• C. Decreased serotonin
• D. Increased norepinephrine

Answer: (B)

Tourette's syndrome is linked to excess dopamine activity in the brain’s motor control circuits, especially the basal ganglia pathways. Dopamine in the nigrostriatal pathway helps regulate movement, and when transmission or receptor sensitivity is heightened, it can produce involuntary motor and vocal tics characteristic of Tourette's. The fact that medications that block dopamine or deplete its stores often lessen tic symptoms supports this dopaminergic excess model. Serotonin and norepinephrine aren’t the primary drivers of the motor features in Tourette's, so they’re less fitting as the central abnormality. Thus, increased dopamine best explains the condition.