We use a combination of Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping and 1H-MRS to examine the role of iron and its association with glutamatergic signalling in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS). GTS is a neurodevelopmental movement disorder with abnormalities in the neurotransmission of dopamine and GABA and, as shown more recently, also in subcortical glutamate (Glu) and glutamine (Gln). In this work, we observed that GTS patients exhibit reductions in cerebral iron levels and report a general association between iron and the Gln:Glu ratio. This work provides a good example of utilizing multi-modal neuroimaging methods to interrogate pathophyiology at multiple scales.
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