Protocol Number: 03-N-0126
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.
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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
Bethesda, Maryland 20892. Last update: 09/20/2008
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