Neurophysiologic Biomarkers in Rett Syndrome

The main goal of the project is to identify potential biomarkers that can become measures for intervention and other translational studies and, at the same time, provide insight into abnormal synaptic activity and pathogenesis of RTT. Therefore, the proposed assessments will be performed with females with RTT and age matched typically developing females. These electrophysiological assessments will be compared to established clinical outcome measures from previous work in the NIH funded Rett and Rett related disorders natural history study. The neurophysiological parameters for RTT will be correlated with each other and also to disease staging, overall clinical severity scores and through exploratory analyses with specific clinical features. The investigators will also be testing procedures to perform the recordings, electrode types and placement, and ways to reduce movement and artifact within the data to establish best practices.