Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Reward Enhances Tic Suppression In Children Within Months Of Tic Disorder Onset, Deanna J. Greene, Jonathan M. Koller, Amy Robichaux-Viehoever, Emily C. Bihun, Bradley L. Schlaggar, Kevin J. Black

Kevin J. Black, MD

Tic disorders are childhood onset neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by motor and/or vocal tics. Research has demonstrated that children with chronic tics (including Tourette syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder: TS/CTD) can suppress tics, particularly when an immediate, contingent reward is given for successful tic suppression. As a diagnosis of TS/CTD requires tics to be present for at least one year, children in these tic suppression studies had been living with tics for quite some time. Thus, it is unclear whether the ability to inhibit tics is learned over time or present at tic onset. Resolving that issue would inform theories of …

A Revised Method For Measuring Distraction By Tactile Stimulation [V1; Ref Status: Indexed, Http://F1000r.Es/42o], Jacqueline R. Schechter, Deanna J. Greene, Jonathan M. Koller, Kevin J. Black

Kevin J. Black, MD

Sensory hypersensitivity (SH) refers to the tendency to attend to subtle stimuli, to persist in attending to them, and to find them noxious. SH is relatively common in several developmental disorders including Tourette Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder (TS/CTD). This study was an attempt to quantify the extent to which a mild tactile stimulus distracts one’s attention in TS/CTD. Fourteen adults with TS/CTD and 14 tic-free control subjects completed questionnaires regarding SH and ADHD, and TS/CTD subjects completed self-report measures of current and past tic disorder symptoms and of current obsessions and compulsions. All subjects performed a sustained attention choice …

Depression In Parkinson Disease, Kevin J. Black

Kevin J. Black, MD