Back to search results

Understanding Tics and Habit Reversal Training in Children

This study aims to understand more about tics (sudden, fast movements and sounds that people do and make without meaning to) in children aged 8 to 12 who have had tics for at least one year. Researchers want to see if the timing of a tic is connected to how long it's been happening, how well someone can control it, and if treatment changes tic timing. The study will also explore if tic timing can predict how well treatment might work. Participants will receive Habit Reversal Training (HRT), a treatment that helps people become more aware of their tics and urges to tic. The study plans to enroll 12 participants.

Study design
This interventional study plans to enroll 12 participants aged 8-12. It involves a pre-treatment assessment, four sessions of Habit Reversal Training (HRT), and a post-treatment assessment.
What's involved
You would participate in six online visits, including a baseline assessment, four Habit Reversal Training sessions, and a post-treatment assessment. All visits will be video recorded.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
The primary endpoints are measured at pre-intervention (baseline) and post-treatment assessment, but no specific follow-up duration after treatment is mentioned.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT06385535

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

UNKNOWN
NAAges 8–12InterventionalBasic science
University of Utah
~12 participants
Updated 2024-04-26 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Habit Reversal Training (HRT)

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Estimates of baseline individual and total tic fractality within free-to-tic (FTT) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) environmental contingencies
Measured over Pre-intervention (baseline)
+6 more outcomes measured

Conditions

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

Explore related trials

Persistent Tic DisorderTourette Syndrome

Where it's being run

1 sites across 1 states
Utah1

Study leadership

  • Michael Himle, PhD · STUDY_CHAIR · University of Utah

Who to contact

Kirsten Bootes, MS
[email protected]
801-585-7114
Email the study team

Opens a ready-to-send draft in your own email app — review before sending.

Do you actually qualify for this trial?

Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.

Check eligibility for this trial ~2 min · HIPAA-protected · delete anytime
Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

8 to 12 years old child who meets the criteria for diagnosis of a persistent tic disorder (e.g., persistent motor/vocal tic disorder or Tourette's disorder; i.e., engages in motor and/or vocal tics that have been present for at least one year)
The child's tics initially onset before age 10.
The child currently engages in at least four different motor and/or vocal tics per minute, on average, during a 10-minute observation period.
The child has a minimum Total Tic Severity Score of 20 on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (10 for motor or vocal tics only)
If the child is on tic-suppressing or psychotropic medication, the dose has been stable for at least 6 weeks with no changes or planned changes in medication status during the study period.
Parent and child read and speak fluent English.
The parent is 18+ years of age.
Access to a private computer with high-speed internet access and private setting.

Exclusion

If, based on the assessment of the study investigators, the child has any serious psychiatric or neurological condition that would interfere with study participation (e.g., unmanaged attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
The child has a self- or parent-reported history of, or is reasonably suspected to have or meet criteria for, functional neurological symptom disorder.
The child has received more than two sessions of behavioral treatment for tics for which tic suppression was a primary component.
The child has a Total Tic Severity Score of 40+ on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (20+ for motor/vocal tics only).

What this trial measures

  • Estimates of baseline individual and total tic fractality within free-to-tic (FTT) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) environmental contingenciesPre-intervention (baseline)

    Estimates of individual and total tic fractality at baseline will be obtained using tic time series data (i.e., temporal sequences of the presence or absence of tics) during the three free-to-tic (FTT) and three differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) conditions of the reinforced tic suppression task (RTST) administered at baseline (pre-intervention). The degree to which individual and total tic time series' follow the frequency spectrum of pink noise (R\^2i) will be calculated and conditionally aggregated to provide average estimated fractal exponents.

  • Voluntary tic suppression success at baselinePre-intervention (baseline)

    Voluntary individual and total tic suppression success will be measured by the average proportion of change of individual and total tic frequency from the three free-to-tic (FTT) and three differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) conditions of the reinforced tic suppression task (RTST) administered at baseline. Larger differences between the average number of tics observed during FTT and DRO conditions will indicate greater voluntary suppression success.

  • Total tic severity at baseline as measured by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS)Pre-intervention (baseline)

    The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) will be used to measure total tic severity at baseline across five dimensions: number, frequency, intensity, complexity, and interference. Scores range from 0-5 (low-high) on each dimension and are totaled to indicate overall severity during the past week. Scores are summed to provide a Total Tic Severity Score ranging from 0-50 (none-severe).

  • Total and individual tic severity at baseline as measured by the Parent Tic Questionnaire (PTQ)Pre-intervention (baseline)

    The Parent Tic Questionnaire (PTQ) will be used to characterize individual and total tic severity at baseline. The PTQ assesses for the presence of common motor and vocal tics over the past week. Frequency and intensity scores ranging from 1-4 (low, high) are obtained for each endorsed tic, which can be summed to yield an individual tic severity score ranging from 0-8 (low, high).

  • Changes in voluntary individual and total tic suppression success pre- and post-interventionPre-intervention (baseline), up to 1 week post intervention

    Voluntary individual and total tic suppression success will be measured by the average proportion of change of individual and total tic frequency from the three free-to-tic (FTT) and three differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) conditions of the reinforced tic suppression tasks (RTSTs) administered at baseline and post-treatment. Larger differences between the average number of tics observed during FTT and DRO conditions at individual time points will indicate greater voluntary suppression success. Larger differences between estimates of suppression success before and after HRT will indicate greater changes in suppression abilities following treatment.

  • Changes in individual and total tic fractality within free-to-tic (FTT) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) environmental contingencies pre- and post-interventionPre-intervention (baseline), up to 1 week post intervention

    Estimates of individual and total tic fractality at baseline and post-intervention will be obtained using tic time series data (i.e., temporal sequences of the presence or absence of tics) during the three free-to-tic (FTT) and three differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) conditions of the reinforced tic suppression task (RTST) administered at baseline (pre-intervention) and post-intervention, respectively. The degree to which individual and total tic time series' follow the frequency spectrum of pink noise (R\^2i) will be calculated and conditionally aggregated to provide average estimated fractal exponents at individual time points. Larger differences between fractal exponents before and after HRT will indicate greater changes in tic fractality following treatment.

  • Changes in individual and total tic severity pre- and post-intervention as measured by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) and Parent Tic Questionnaire (PTQ)Pre-intervention (baseline), up to 1 week post intervention

    The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) measures total tic severity across five dimensions: number, frequency, intensity, complexity, and interference. Scores range from 0-5 (low-high) on each dimension and are totaled to indicate overall severity during the past week. Scores are summed to provide a Total Tic Severity Score ranging from 0-50 (none-severe). The Parent Tic Questionnaire (PTQ) measures individual and total tic severity by assessing for the presence of common motor and vocal tics over the past week. Frequency and intensity scores ranging from 1-4 (low, high) are obtained for each endorsed tic, which can be summed to yield an individual tic severity score ranging from 0-8 (low, high). The YGTSS and PTQ will be used to measure total and individual and total tic severity, respectively, at baseline and post-intervention. Larger differences between YGTSS and PTQ scores before and after HRT will indicate greater changes in tic severity following treatment.