Active clinical trials for "Tics"

This study will examine how the brain controls movement in people with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder to determine if the timing of movement is important in whether someone feels "in control" of their movements. Although movements in tic disorders are often characterized as "involuntary," some patients claim that these movements are made voluntarily, or they are unable to decide if they are voluntary or involuntary. Previous experiments have shown that when people are asked to look at a clock and report the time they first decide to make a movement they report times later than the first brain waves associated with movement appear. When they are asked to report the time they first initiate the movement, they report times before the muscles actually begin to move. This study may help determine how the sense of willing and initiating an action is altered in patients with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder, and how people may feel more or less "in control" of their movements. Normal volunteers and patients with Tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder between 18 and 65 years of age may be eligible for this study. Control subjects must not have any neurological or psychological disorders, and patients with Tourette syndrome of chronic tic disorder must not have any other neurological disorders. Patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may not enroll in this study. All participants will have a medical history, physical examination, and a test to determine their level of attention. Patients will be interviewed about their symptoms and complete psychiatric rating scales. In addition, all participants will undergo the following procedures: Electric shock Participants look at a clock on a computer screen, the hands of which revolves quickly. While looking at the clock, each participant will be given small, non-painful electric shocks and asked, according to the clock, to say when they received the shocks. The shocks are repeated 40 times. Arm movement Participants are asked to lift their arms off a table repeatedly, at random times, while they look at the computer clock. This exercise is repeated 80 times. Of these 80, participants are asked 10 times consecutively to say the time they first had the desire to move their arm, and then 10 consecutively the time they first felt that they were moving their arm. Electroencephalography (EEG) and Electromyography (EMG) Participants undergo EEG and EMG durin...

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.

This study will investigate which areas of the brain are primarily involved in and responsible for tics in patients with Tourette's syndrome and chronic motor disorder. Tourette's syndrome is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics and is associated with behavioral and emotional disturbances, including symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Chronic motor disorder has the same characteristics as Tourette's syndrome, except that patients do not have vocal tics. Healthy normal volunteers and patients with Tourette's syndrome or chronic motor tic disorder between 18 and 65 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history and physical and neurological examinations. Participants will undergo positron emission tomography (PET) scanning to study tics under three conditions- spontaneous tics, suppression of tics, and sleep-to determine which areas of the brain are responsible for generation of tics. For this procedure, the subject is injected with H215O, a radioactive substance similar to water. A special camera detects the radiation emitted by the H215O, allowing measurement of brain blood flow. Subjects will receive up to 20 injections of H215O during the scanning. Participants will be asked not to sleep the entire night before the test. Before the scan, both patients and volunteers will have EEG electrodes placed on their heads to record the electrical activity of their brains. Patients will also have EMG electrodes placed in areas of the body where tics occur. A small catheter (plastic tube) will be placed in an arm vein for injecting the radioactive tracers, and a mask will be placed on the face to help keep the head still during scanning. The mask has large openings for eyes, nose and mouth, so that it does not interfere with talking or breathing. The entire test takes about 4 hours. During this time, the subject will sleep for 1.5 hours either at the beginning or end of the scan. For the other 2.5 hours, scans will be done every 10 minutes for 1 minute under the different conditions of tic suppression or release of tics. On a separate day, participants will also undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a diagnostic test that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of the brain. For this procedure, the subject lies still on a stretcher that is moved into the scanner (a narrow cylinder containing the magnet). ...

The purpose of this study is to examine how the brain and environment interact to influence children's ability to suppress tics using a medical technology called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).

This study will investigate the brain areas that are activated by vocal and motor tics in patients with Tourette's syndrome and other tic disorders. Tics are involuntary repetitive movements similar to voluntary movements. They may be simple, involving only a few muscles or simple sounds, or complex, involving several groups of muscles in orchestrated bouts. This study will involve only simple motor tics, such as eye blinking, nose wrinkling, facial grimacing and abdominal tensing, and simple vocal tics, such as throat clearing, sniffing and snorting. Healthy normal volunteers and patients between 14 and 65 years of age with simple motor or vocal tics may be eligible for this study. Participants will have a brief medical history and physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images. For the procedure, the subject lies on a table that is moved into a cylindrical chamber containing a strong magnet. Earplugs are worn to muffle the loud thumping sounds made by electrical switching of the radio frequency circuits and protect against temporary hearing impairment. During the scan, normal volunteers will be asked to make simple movements or sounds designed to imitate tics, such as raising eyebrows, blinking or coughing. Patients with tic disorders will have two parts to the scanning session. First they will relax and allow tics to occur spontaneously, then they will be asked to imitate a specific tic when there is no urge to tic. Patients and healthy subjects will have electromyography (EMG) to record the timing of the voluntary movements and tics. For this procedure, several pairs of small, saucer-like electrodes are attached to the skin with a gel or paste. Electric signals from the electrodes are amplified and recorded on a computer. A microphone may be placed near patients to record any vocal tics. A video camera may also be used to record the tics.

The purpose of this study is to develop the adult tic disorders registry in order to characterize the relationship between tic severity and tic-related impairment in women compared to men with tic disorders.