There has been a recent increase in the number of postmortem brain specimens that have been collected from Tourette Syndrome (TS) patients. Thus far, the recruitment efforts of the Tourette Syndrome Association and the resources of the Brain Tissue Resource Center (BTRC) at McLean Hospital, Harvard University have led to the collection of brain specimens from more than twenty TS patients. Previous neuropatho¬logical and neurochemical studies of TS brain tissue were limited to one to four specimens. The newly available tissue provides an unpar-alleled opportunity to study the biological determinants of TS. A Consortium of prominent neuroscientists has been formed to study these precious tissues. They include Dr. Suzanne Haber at the University of Rochester, Dr. Thomas Hyde at NIMH’s Clinical Neuro¬science Center, Dr. Janice Naegele at Wesleyan University, Dr. Harvey Singer at Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Jean Paul Vonsattel at the BTRC. Dr. Vonsattel has been the principal neuropathologist and has been a key person in TSA’s effort to have postmortem brain speci¬mens available for study. Yale University will serve as the coordinat¬ing center for the Consortium. Yale investigators include: Drs. George Anderson, Donald Cohen, Christine Howe, James Leckman, David Pauls, Bradley Peterson, Michael Schwartz, and Flora Vaccarino. A number of structural, volumetric, neurochemical, genetic and clinical studies are planned. We will use this TSA award to support core functions of the Consortium, to provide limited support for a series of preliminary studies, and to prepare a larger grant request for Federal funding. On behalf of the research community, we hope that registration in the TSA Brain Bank Program will continue to increase so that we can find the answers we all seek. We encourage readers to contact the TSA for more information. James F. Leckman, M.D. (Principal Investigator) Five Participating Centers AWARD: $50,000 Tourette Association of America Inc. – Research Grant Award 1996