Sensory Phenomena in Tourette Syndrome: Their Role in Symptom Formation and Treatment

Houghton, David C.; Capriotti, Matthew R.; Conelea, Christine A.; Woods, Douglas W.

doi:10.1007/s40474-014-0026-2

Cited by 59 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 72 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, a neurobehavioral perspective on tics acknowledges that tics are supported by motor hyperexcitability within fronto-striatal neural circuits (Albin & Mink, 2006), but tics are maintained, in part, by operant reinforcement and respondent associations (reviewed by Himle et al, 2006). One crucial aspect of these conditioning processes involves the functional relation between certain somatic phenomena, known as premonitory urges (PMUs), and tics (reviewed by Houghton, Capriotti, Conelea, & Woods, 2014). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Habituation to Premonitory Urges in Behavior Therapy for Tic Disorders

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Behavior therapy is effective for Persistent Tic Disorders (PTDs), but behavioral processes facilitating tic reduction are not well understood. One process, habituation, is thought to create tic reduction through decreases in premonitory urge severity. The current study tested whether premonitory urges decreased in youth with PTDs (N = 126) and adults with PTDs (N = 122) who participated in parallel randomized clinical trials comparing behavior therapy to psychoeducation and supportive therapy (PST). Trends in premonitory urges, tic severity, and treatment outcome were analyzed according to the predictions of a habituation model, whereby urge severity would be expected to decrease in those who responded to behavior therapy. Although adults who responded to behavior therapy showed a significant trend of declining premonitory urge severity across treatment, results failed to demonstrate that behavior therapy specifically caused changes in premonitory urge severity. In addition, reductions in premonitory urge severity in those who responded to behavior therapy were significant greater than those who did not respond to behavior therapy but no different than those who responded or did not respond to PST. Children with PTDs failed to show any significant changes in premonitory urges. Reductions in premonitory urge severity did not mediate the relationship between treatment and outcome in either adults or children. These results cast doubt on the notion that habituation is the therapeutic process underlying the effectiveness of behavior therapy, which has immediate implications for the psychoeducation and therapeutic rationale presented in clinical practice. Moreover, there may be important developmental changes in premonitory urges in PTDs, and alternative models of therapeutic change warrant investigation.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Habituation to Premonitory Urges in Behavior Therapy for Tic Disorders

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most adolescent and adult TS patients report that tics are enacted in response to premonitory sensory phenomena (PSP), unpleasant sensations of somatic tension and exaggerated intero- and exteroceptive awareness (Cohen and Leckman, 1992; Houghton et al, 2014). Both PSP and tics can be exacerbated by specific environmental and psychological triggers, including sensory over- or understimulation, fatigue and sleep problems, frustration, and anxiety or stress (Conelea and Woods, 2008; Godar and Bortolato, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling tics in rodents: Conceptual challenges and paths forward

Bortolato

Pittenger

2017

Journal of Neuroscience Methods

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Recent advances in our understanding of the neurobiology of tics have led to the development of novel rodent models capturing different pathophysiological and phenotypic aspects of Tourette syndrome. The proliferation of these models, however, raises vexing questions on what standards should be adopted to assess their theoretical validity and empirical utility. Assessing the homology of a rodent motoric burst with a tic remains problematic, due to our incomplete knowledge of the underpinnings of tics, their high phenotypic complexity and variability, limitations in our ability test key aspects of tic phenomenology (such as premonitory sensory phenomena) in animals, and between-species differences in neuroanatomy and behavioral repertoire. These limitations underscore that any interpretation of behavioral output in an animal model cannot exclusively rely on the recognition of features that bear superficial resemblance with tics, but must be supported by other etiological and convergent phenomenological criteria. New method Here, we discuss two complementary approaches for the study and validation of tic-like manifestations in rodents, based respectively on the use of contextual modulators and accompanying features of repetitive motor manifestations and on the reproduction of pathogenic factors. Results Neither strategy can by itself provide convincing evidence that a model informatively recapitulates tic pathophysiology. Their combination holds promise to enhance the rigorous evaluation and translational relevance of rodent models of tic disorders. Conclusions This systematic consideration of different approaches to the validation and study of animal models of tic pathophysiology provides a framework for future work in this area.

show abstract

“…A diagnostic hallmark of tics is that they are typically preceded by sensory phenomena (SP) - intrusive somatic sensations and premonitory urges that are transiently attenuated by tic execution (Houghton et al, 2014). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of gait and sensorimotor deficits in the D1CT-7 mouse model of Tourette syndrome

Fowler

Mosher

Godar

et al. 2017

Journal of Neuroscience Methods

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by multiple motor and phonic tics. While TS patients have been also shown to exhibit subtle abnormalities of sensorimotor integration and gait, animal models of this disorder are seldom tested for these functions. To fill this gap, we assessed gait and sensorimotor integration in the D1CT-7 mouse, one of the best-validated animal models of TS. D1CT-7 mice exhibit spontaneous tic-like manifestations, which, in line with the clinical phenomenology of TS, are markedly exacerbated by environmental stress. Thus, to verify whether stress may affect sensorimotor integration and gait functions in D1CT-7 mice, we subjected these animals to a 20-min session of spatial confinement, an environmental stressor that was recently shown to worsen tic-like manifestations. Immediately following this manipulation (or no confinement, for controls), animals were subjected to either the sticky-tape task, to test for sensorimotor integration; or a 60-min session in an open field (42 × 42 cm) force-plate actometer for gait analysis. Gait analyses included spatial, temporal, and dynamic (force) parameters. D1CT-7 mice displayed a longer latency to remove a sticky tape, indicating marked impairments in sensorimotor integration; furthermore, these mutants exhibited shortened stride length, increased stride rate, nearly equal early-phase velocity, and higher late-phase velocity. D1CT-7 mice also ran with greater force amplitude than wild-type (WT) littermates. None of these phenotypes was worsened by spatial confinement. These results highlight the potential importance of testing sensorimotor integration and gait functions as a phenotypic correlate of cortical connectivity deficits in animal models of TS.

show abstract

Sensory Phenomena in Tourette Syndrome: Their Role in Symptom Formation and Treatment

Cited by 59 publications

References 72 publications

Investigating Habituation to Premonitory Urges in Behavior Therapy for Tic Disorders

Investigating Habituation to Premonitory Urges in Behavior Therapy for Tic Disorders

Modeling tics in rodents: Conceptual challenges and paths forward

Assessment of gait and sensorimotor deficits in the D1CT-7 mouse model of Tourette syndrome

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About