A Naturalistic Study Investigating Sleep and Cognitive Learning in Children With and Without Tic Disorders

King's College London

Status

Completed

Conditions

Tic Disorders

Treatments

Other: 'Sleepsuite' novel cognitive learning tasks

Other: Actigraphy to measure sleep duration and efficiency

Study type

Observational

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT02676492

HR-15/16-2278

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will explore the relationship between sleep, learning, cognition, mood and behaviour in children with Tic Disorders (Tourette Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder) compared to typically developing peers.

Full description

This project explores the relationship between sleep and learning in childhood with tic disorders, such as Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic tic disorders (CTD).

TS/CTD are movement disorders characterized by repetitive involuntary movements and/or vocalizations called tics. Sleep related problems are commonly reported for children with TS/CTD and may include problems getting to sleep, waking up frequently during the night, early wakening and tic-related movements in sleep. For typically developing children, sleep disturbances have been linked to problems with mood, behaviour and learning. To date, the relationship between sleep and learning has not been explored for children with TS/CTD.

The aim of this project is to investigate whether there is a relationship between sleep efficiency and learning in boys with and without TS/CTD aged 11-14 years.

Sleep efficiency will be measured using a small actigraphy watch, which will collect information about movements during sleep, night time waking and light exposure. Children will be required to wear the watch for 14 days and nights. Before one night of sleep and again the next morning, children will be asked to complete some tasks on an iPad Air to assess learning. These include 1) 'popping' balloons with faces on them according to specific rules (e.g. boys faces, happy faces), 2) learning novel animal names, 3) navigating a 3D maze. Children will also be administered some standard tests to look at level of intellectual functioning, memory and other thinking skills that may contribute to performance on the computerized tasks. Additionally, children and their parents will be asked to complete questionnaires to assess tics, quality of life, mood and behaviour. The findings of this study will help improve understanding of sleep problems for children with tic disorders to aid the development of specific interventions for this group.

Enrollment

32 patients

Sex

Male

Ages

11 to 14 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome or Chronic Tic Disorder (for clinical group)

Exclusion criteria

Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability (i.e. Full Scale IQ (IntellIigence Quotient) below 70), Autism Spectrum Disorder or Depression
Currently taking medications to support tic, mood and/or behaviour management