Protocol Number: 03-N-0126

Title:

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cortical Connectivity Involved in Tics and Voluntary Movements in Patients With Tourette's Syndrome and Chronic Motor Tic Disorder: An EEG Study

Number:

03-N-0126

Summary:

This study will use electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) to examine how the brain generates tics and controls voluntary movement in patients with Tourette's syndrome and chronic motor tic disorder. EEG records the electrical activity of the brain. For this test, a cap with built-in electrodes is placed on the subject's head, and the electrodes are connected to a monitor that records the brain activity. EMG records muscle activity using electrodes placed on the skin over muscles on the fingers or above the outer corner of the eyes.

Healthy normal volunteers and patients with Tourette's syndrome and chronic motor tic disorder between 21 and 65 years of age may be eligible for this 2- to 3-hour study. Each candidate will be screened with a medical history, physical and neurological examinations, and a questionnaire that screens for psychiatric disorders.

During EEG and EMG recordings, participants undergo the following tasks while seated comfortably in a sound-shielded room:

Patients

- Finger task: Patients raise their index finger once every 10 seconds for about 25 minutes.

- Tic evaluation and mimicking: Patients allow their tics to occur as they do naturally. After each tic, they report whether the tic was voluntary and whether it was preceded by a sensation of urge. They then mimic tics that they normally have, at a rate of about once every 10 seconds.

- Tic suppression task: Patients suppress tics they normally have for several minutes. They then allow the tics to occur naturally, without attempting to suppress them.

Normal Volunteers

- Finger task: Volunteers raise their index finger once every 10 seconds for about 25 minutes.

- Open eye task: Volunteers keep their eyes open for a minute or so, and then resume blinking as often as feels comfortable. The process is repeated several times.

Sponsoring Institute:

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Recruitment Detail

Type: Active Accrual Of New Subjects

Gender: Male & Female

Referral Letter Required: No

Population Exclusion(s): Children

Eligibility Criteria:

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Twenty seven patients and 27 controls, able and willing to give consent, will be studied.

Subjects of any race, gender, handedness, or age between 21 and 65 will be included.

Patients will have clinically documented Tourette's syndrome or chronic motor tic disorder as defined by DSM-IV-TR and evaluation of tic severity using the Yale Tic Scale.

Regarding co-morbid disorders such as ADHD and OCD, we will accept a mild degree of ADHD and mild to moderate degree of OCD. These disorders will be established by a psychiatrist.

Only those with no more than mild to moderate severity of symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Tourette's syndrome will be accepted into the study.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Subjects younger than 21 or older than 65 years.

Subjects with 1) major depression, 2) bipolar disorder, or 3) psychotic disorder.

Subjects taking benzodiazepines, anti-depressant or neuroleptic medications.

Subjects with major acute or chronic illness.

Pregnant women.

Special Instructions: Currently Not Provided

Keywords:

Tourette's Syndrome

Tic Disorder

(EEG) Electroencephalography

Event-Related Desynchronization/Synchronization

Coherence

Recruitment Keywords:

Tourette's

Tourette Syndrome

Tic Disorder

Healthy Volunteer

HV

Conditions:

Tourette Syndrome

Tic Disorders

Investigational Drug(s):

None

Investigational Device(s):

None

Contacts:

Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office
Building 61
10 Cloister Court
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4754
Toll Free: 1-800-411-1222
TTY: 301-594-9774 (local),1-866-411-1010 (toll free)
Fax: 301-480-9793

Electronic Mail:prpl@mail.cc.nih.gov

Citations:

Biswal B, et al. Abnormal cerebral activation associated with a motor task in Tourette syndrome.

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 1998 Sep;19(8):1509-12.

PMID: 9763386

Braun AR, et al. The functional neuroanatomy of Tourette's syndrome: an FDG-PET study. I. Regional changes in cerebral glucose metabolism differentiating patients and controls.

Neuropsychopharmacology. 1993 Dec;9(4):277-91.

PMID: 8305128

Brown P, Marsden CD. What do the basal ganglia do?

Lancet. 1998 Jun 13;351(9118):1801-4. Review.

PMID: 9635969

• Questions about participating in a study, please contact the Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office, CC.
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