Provocative drug testing in Tourette's syndrome: d- and l-amphetamine and haloperidol

Tourette's syndrome (TS) has become the focus of more intensive investigation in recent years as a model neuropsychiatric disorder with precisely defined clinical diagnostic criteria and symptoms which are often responsive to pharmacotherapeutic intervention. In this provocative study, six TS patients were given doses of d-amphetamine, l-amphetamine, and haloperidol, in order to evaluate whether acute drug administration might provide a means of further clarifying the neurochemical pathophysiology of TS. Our patients experienced a heterogeneous array of responses, which precluded inferences regarding the neurochemistry of TS. Our results, however, illuminated many of the difficulties which confront investigators wishing to do behavioral pharmacologic research with TS patients, and provided insight into the complex nature of this neurobehavioral disorder.