The Pathophysiology of Functional Neurological Disorders

NCT ID: NCT02905877

Last Updated: 2020-03-27

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 130 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2016-09-30
• Study Completion Date: 2019-09-30

Brief Summary

Functional disorders, also called psychogenic or psychosomatic are very common, disabling and their costs to society are immense.

Functional movement disorders are abnormal, involuntary movements, that are illogical in terms of classic neurology. Intriguingly, they typically manifest when patients pay attention to them and disappear with distraction.

The investigators aim to further the understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying functional neurological disorders in order to improve treatment. In particular they aim to understand the effect of attention on movement in general, on functional neurological mechanisms and on the sense of agency (of subjective control) over a movement.

Patients with a functional neurological disorder, patients with an organic neurological disorder and healthy participants will perform simple tasks, such as reaching to a target, while additional tasks will manipulate their attention. The effects of these attentional manipulations will be analysed on several levels: movement performance, analysed by the kinematics and electromyography (EMG),and psychophysical measures, such as the sense of agency.

If the hypothesis turns out to be true, then changing the attentional focus could be used as a treatment in functional neurological disorders.

Conditions

Functional Neurological Disorders

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: OTHER
• Study Time Perspective: OTHER

Study Groups

Functional neurological disorders

Initially especially patients diagnosed with a functional tremor.

Behavioural study

Intervention Type: OTHER

reaching studies and other behavioural studies.

Organic neurological disorders.

Initially especially patients diagnosed with a an organic action tremor (e.g. essential tremor or dystonic tremor).

Behavioural study

Intervention Type: OTHER

reaching studies and other behavioural studies.

Healthy control

Healthy age matched controls

Behavioural study

Intervention Type: OTHER

reaching studies and other behavioural studies.

Interventions

Behavioural study

reaching studies and other behavioural studies.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• We will recruit three groups of participants:

1. functional neurological disorders, e.g. functional tremor: diagnosed by a neurologist.

2. organic counterpart of the functional neurological disorders, e.g. in the case of functional tremor, the organic counterpart would be organic tremor: presence of an organic tremor according to internationally recognised guidelines and diagnosed by a neurologist.

3. healthy age-matched controls.

Exclusion Criteria

• Healthy Participants: Major neurological disorder.

All groups:

1. Age under 18 or over 80

2. Significant impairment in ability to give informed consent for study procedures due to significant cognitive impairment and/or inability to understand study literature,

3. very severe tremor

4. moderate or severe cognitive impairment

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 80 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University College, London

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Institute of Neurology, University College London

London, , United Kingdom

Countries

United Kingdom

Other Identifiers

16/0275

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id