Loading clinical trials...

Neurofeedback From the Supplementary Motor Area for Tourette Syndrome | Clinical Trials | Clareo Health

RECRUITINGNA

Neurofeedback From the Supplementary Motor Area for Tourette Syndrome

NCT05558566•Yale University

Summary

This is a clinical trial where adolescents aged 10-16 years old with Tourette Syndrome (or chronic tic disorder) are randomized to receive either real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback targeting the supplementary motor area (for the experimental intervention) or real-time fMRI neurofeedback (NF) from a control region (for the control intervention).

Detailed Description

The training portion of this study involves three fMRI NF sessions, with six NF scans per session. NF scans alternate between up-regulate and down-regulate blocks in which participants are cued to increase or decrease activity in the target region while receiving feedback on activity in the region at the bottom of the screen in the form of a line graph. The experimental group receives feedback from the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the control group receives feedback from a control region of the brain.

Eligibility

Age

10 - 16 years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion Criteria

•Boys and girls, 10 to 16 years of age
•A current diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome (TS) or chronic tic disorder (CTD), with active tics that can be executed without head movement, and a YGTSS score of at least 13 (for TS participants) or at least 12 (for CTD participants)
•Currently stable medication treatment and no planned changes in medication for the duration of the study.
•Family residence within 2 hours of Yale Medical Center with ability and willingness to attend assessment and fMRI visits.
•Children and their parents are expected to be able to speak and understand spoken English in order to participate in a clinical assessment of TS and related psychopathology.
•Subjects will be free of: 1) metal medical implants or braces, 2) pregnancy, and will have 3) a body weight of less than 250 lbs. and 4) no claustrophobia.

Exclusion Criteria

•Intelligence quotient below 80
•Current diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, bipolar or psychotic disorder or current suicidality
•Significant medical condition such as heart disease, hypertension, liver or renal failure, pulmonary disease, seizure disorder
•Recently initiated psychotherapy. Participation in the study will not be allowed within 8 weeks of the initiation of psychotherapy. Ongoing, concurrent psychotherapy (that was initiated at least 8 weeks previously) for the child will be allowed, but parents will be asked not to initiate any new psychotherapy for the child during the study
•Subjects may also be excluded after the first MR scan if we are unable to localize the two regions in their brain that are used as targets for the active and control neurofeedback conditions.

Locations (1)

Yale University School of Medicine

New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Key Dates

Start Date

November 1, 2022

Primary Completion Date

December 20, 2026

Completion Date

January 20, 2027

Last Updated

August 6, 2025

Enrollment

ESTIMATED participants

Conditions

Tourette Syndrome in Adolescence

Interventions

Neurofeedback from the SMA

OTHER

Neurofeedback from control region

OTHER

Contacts

Cheyenne Harris-Starling

CONTACT

203-737-6055 cheyenne.harris-starling@yale.edu

Jitendra Awasti

CONTACT

203-737-6055 jitendra.awasti@yale.edu

Cognitive-psychophysiological Treatment for Tics in Young People With Tourette's Syndrome With or Without Biofeedback

NCT06873841

Tourette SyndromeTics+1 more

View study

Data Source & Attribution

This clinical trial information is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

ClinicalTrials.gov last update: August 6, 2025Data synced to Clareo: March 29, 2026

Modifications: This data has been reformatted for display purposes. Eligibility criteria have been parsed into inclusion/exclusion sections. Location data has been geocoded to enable distance-based search. For the authoritative and most current information, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.

Neither the United States Government nor Clareo Health make any warranties regarding the data. Check ClinicalTrials.gov frequently for updates.

View ClinicalTrials.gov Terms and Conditions