Clinical Characteristics and Temporal Properties of Individual Tics in Persistent Tic Disorder

Summary

The goal of this clinical study is to learn more about the timing of tics (sudden, fast movements and sounds that people do and make without meaning to) in people who have multiple tics that have been going on for more than one year. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. See whether a tic's timing is related to other characteristics of the tic, like how long it has been happening and how well the person can control/stop that tic
2. See whether the timing of a tic can tell us how well the person can control/stop that tic
3. See whether tic treatment changes the timing of tics, and if the timing of a tic has anything to do with how well treatment will work to stop it

Participants will meet with a study researcher to learn more about the study, ask questions, and decide whether or not they would like to be involved. If they decide to do the study, they will meet with the researcher 6 times:

1. During the first visit, the study researcher will ask questions about the participant's life, tics, and other psychological symptoms. The researcher will watch the participant's tics for 10 minutes. The participant will do a computer task where they follow instructions to tic or not tic.
2. During the second visit, the study researcher will treat one of the participant's tics.
3. During the third visit, the study researcher will treat another one of the participant's tics.
4. During the fourth visit, the study researcher will treat another one of the participant's tics.
5. During the fifth visit, the study researcher will treat another one of the participant's tics.
6. During the sixth visit, the study researcher will ask questions about the participant's tics and other psychological symptoms. The participant will do a computer task where they follow instructions to tic or not tic.

Conditions

• Tics
• Tic Disorders
• Vocal Tic
• Motor Tic
• Tourette Syndrome
• Tourette Syndrome in Children
• Tourette Syndrome in Adolescence
• Tics/Tremor

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Habit Reversal Training (HRT)

Habit Reversal Training (HRT) is a multicomponent treatment package developed to treat a repetitive behaviors. HRT includes (1) increasing awareness of discrete occurrences of tics and associated premonitory urges (PMUs; i.e., awareness training), (2) teaching the patient to suppress tics by engaging in behaviors that are physically incompatible with target tics (i.e., competing response \[CR\] training), and (3) prompting and reinforcing between-session patient engagement with therapeutic techniques and homework (i.e., providing social support).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Utah

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Michael Himle, PhD · University of Utah

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

8 Years

Max Age

12 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-04-04

Primary Completion

2024-12-31

Completion

2024-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations