Tic Frequency Decreases during Short-term Psychosocial Stress – An Experimental Study on Children with Tic Disorders
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Contributors
Abstract
It has been suggested that psychosocial stress influences situational fluctuations of tic frequency. However, evidence from experimental studies is lacking. The current study investigated the effects of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-C) on tic frequency in 31 children and adolescents with tic disorders. A relaxation and a concentration situation served as control conditions. Patients were asked either to suppress their tics or to "tic freely." Physiological measures of stress were measured throughout the experiment. The TSST-C elicited a clear stress response with elevated levels of saliva cortisol, increased heart rate, and a larger number of skin conductance responses. During relaxation and concentration, the instruction to suppress tics reduced the number of tics, whereas during stress, the number of tics was low, regardless of the given instruction. Our study suggests that the stress might result in a situational decrease of tic frequency.
Details
Original language | English |
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Article number | 84 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | MAY |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 84975748873 |
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researchoutputwizard | legacy.publication#72463 |
researchoutputwizard | legacy.publication#72945 |
ORCID | /0000-0003-2132-4445/work/160950817 |
Keywords
Keywords
- tic disorders, Trier Social Stress Test, free speech task, skin conductance, heart rate, Tourette syndrome, psychosocial stress, cortisol