<i>A Cursing Brain? The Histories of Tourette Syndrome</i>, by Howard I. Kushner

SUMMARY Kushner's monograph (published in 2000) explores clinicians’ developing understanding of a syndrome first described 200 years ago. This article highlights changing concepts of the disorder, its aetiology and treatment over its long history, as described by Kushner, and considers the current differential diagnosis of DSM-5 ‘Tourette's disorder’. It points out Kushner's astute observation that the clinical syndrome originally described by Itard and Gilles de la Tourette as ‘maladie des tics’ is not what is defined in the 21st century as Tourette syndrome.