Managing TS with exercise
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Managing symptoms in Tourette syndrome with aerobic exercise
IRAS ID
262013
Contact name
Georgina Jackson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The primary objective of our study is to estimate the efficacy of aerobic exercise on symptom expression and the associated changes in brain cortical excitability in people with Tourette syndrome [TS]. People with TS often report a reduction in their symptoms under focused attention, and exercise is an area relatively unexplored as a potential to reduce symptom frequency. The only controlled experiment published to date demonstrated a positive impact of exercise on symptoms of TS. Furthermore, studies have shown that people with TS demonstrate altered brain cortical excitability. Therefore, in this study for the first time in TS, we would like to combine the two methods and investigate the associated impact of exercise on brain cortical excitability. We would like to use two types of exercise regime: aerobic and non-aerobic which participants complete by following an avatar on an xBox console, and assess any modulatory effects of exercise on cortical excitability as assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation [TMS]. We would like to invite 34 individuals with TS to take part in our study, aged 8 - 35 years. This study would take place at the School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, where all the key equipment exists. Each participant will be welcomed to our lab over two consecutive days. On each study visit participants will complete either an aerobic or non-aerobic exercise regime (counterbalanced between participants). In addition, we measure cortical excitability and the frequency of tics in a video-record session both prior to and following exercise.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EM/0277
Date of REC Opinion
4 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion