Biofeedback treatment for Tourette syndrome: a preliminary randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To study the clinical effectiveness of biofeedback treatment in reducing tics in patients with Tourette syndrome.

BACKGROUND:

Despite advances in the pharmacologic treatment of patients with Tourette syndrome, many remain troubled by their tics, which may be resistant to multiple medications at tolerable doses. Electrodermal biofeedback is a noninvasive biobehavioral intervention that can be useful in managing neuropsychiatric and neurologic conditions.

METHODS:

We conducted a randomized controlled trial of electrodermal biofeedback training in 21 patients with Tourette syndrome.

RESULTS:

After training the patients for 3 sessions a week over 4 weeks, we observed a significant reduction in tic frequency and improved indices of subjective well-being in both the active-biofeedback and sham-feedback (control) groups, but there was no difference between the groups in these measurements. Furthermore, the active-treatment group did not demonstrably learn to reduce their sympathetic electrodermal tone using biofeedback.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings indicate that this form of biofeedback training was unable to produce a clinical effect greater than placebo. The main confounding factor appeared to be the 30-minute duration of the training sessions, which made it difficult for patients to sustain a reduction in sympathetic tone when their tics themselves were generating competing phasic electrodermal arousal responses. Despite a negative finding in this study, electrodermal biofeedback training may have a role in managing tics if optimal training schedules can be identified.

• Authors: Yoko Nagai, Andrea E Cavanna, Hugo D Critchley, Jeremy J Stern, Mary M Robertson, Eileen M Joyce
• Journal: Cognitive and behavioral neurology : official journal of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology (Cogn Behav Neurol) Vol. 27 Issue 1 Pg. 17-24 (Mar 2014) ISSN: 1543-3641 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24674962 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Biofeedback, Psychology
• Female
• Galvanic Skin Response
• Humans
• Male
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Tics (etiology, prevention & control, psychology, therapy)
• Tourette Syndrome (psychology, therapy)
• Treatment Outcome