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Interest has grown in the possible association between antineuronal antibodies (due to the interaction of antistreptococcal antibodies with neuronal sites) and the clinical appearance of obsessive-compulsive disorder, tics, or both (a phenomenon called PANDAS -- pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection). To investigate neurobiological correlates of PANDAS, this MRI study compared the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, globus pallidum), thalamus, and total brain volume of 34 children presumed to have streptococcus-associated OCD or tic disorders (18 with OCD; 16 with tic disorders) with those of 82 matched healthy controls. The basal ganglia were the main area of interest due to previously reporte…