Clinical Trial: Neurobiology of Psychogenic Movement Disorder and Non-Epileptic Seizures

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Observational

Official Title: Neurobiological Studies of Psychogenic Movement Disorders and Non-Epileptic Seizures

Brief Summary:

This study is part of a series of studies that will explore how the mind and the brain work to cause episodes of uncontrollable shaking in people who have no known underlying brain or medical disorder. The study is conducted at NIH and at the Brown University Rhode Island Hospital.

Healthy volunteers and people with psychogenic movement disorders (PMD) or non-epileptic seizures (NES) who are 18 years of age or older may be eligible for this study.

Patients with NES have 3 teaspoons of blood drawn. The blood is tested for two genes that are normally found in healthy individuals to see if they are found more frequently in patients with uncontrolled shaking.

Patients with PMD have blood drawn for testing and also undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at how the brain functions while the subject performs a specific task. MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of body organs and tissues. During the scan, the subject lies on a table that can slide in and out of the scanner, a metal cylinder. The scan lasts about 60 to 90 minutes, during which the subject may be asked to lie still for up to 10 minutes at a time and to perform tasks, such as identifying the gender of faces shown on a screen.

Healthy volunteers may have blood drawn for genetic testing or fMRI or both.


Detailed Summary:

Objectives:

The study investigates the neurobiological correlates of conversion disorder (CD). The primary objectives are to investigate in CD patients:

  • The role of emotional valence in an implicit emotional processing task (COMPLETE)
  • The frequency of the 5HTTLPR S/S genotype
  • Structural differences in grey matter of the brain as detected by voxel-based morphometry (VBM)
  • The neural correlates of fear conditioning and fear extinction in a fear learning fMRI task

Exploratory objectives are to investigate in CD patients:

  • The frequency of several gene polymorphisms that are implicated in stress and affective disorder, including 5HTTLPR S/S (serotonin receptor), COMT (catechol-o-methyltransferase enzyme), Val/Met BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and FKBP5 rs1360780 genotypes, as well as other polymorphisms or mutations to be determined later.
  • The levels of salivary cortisol as a measure of stress.
  • The heart rate variability, as a measure of autonomic nervous system function. [COMPLETE]
  • Structural differences in white matter of the brain as detected by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
  • The resting state BOLD fMRI signal
  • The impact of the caregiver's attitude on the patients' symptoms

Study population:

We intend to study adult patients with diagnoses of psychogenic movement diso
Sponsor: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Current Primary Outcome:

Original Primary Outcome:

Current Secondary Outcome:

Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

Dates:
Date Received: July 12, 2007
Date Started: July 11, 2007
Date Completion:
Last Updated: April 20, 2017
Last Verified: March 24, 2017