Who can participate?
Children, 8 to 12 years old, who are right-handed may be eligible for participation.
Your child CANNOT participate in the study if he or she has any of the following:
- Medical implants, medical devices, metal clips, or any other metal inside his or her body
- Any medical, neurological, or psychiatric conditions
- Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, dyslexia, intellectual disability, or some learning disabilities
What will happen in the study?
If your child qualifies and you decide to participate, you will come to Cincinnati Children’s for 1 to 3 study visits.
These are the things that will happen to your child while in the study:
- Review of you and your child’s past medical history, medications, development, learning and current symptoms
- Sensory processing testing – looks at how children adapt to sensory information coming from the skin (measured in the fingers with a small box device placed under the hand and a laptop)
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator (TMS) testing – looks at how electricity patterns that are important for motor control and movement behave on the surface of the brain (measured with a handheld magnet over the scalp in the TMS lab)
- Brain shape and GABA testing – looks at how the brain is shaped and how much GABA (a chemical neurotransmitter important for motor control) is present within 2 surface areas of the brain used for planning and performing movements (measured by a special research brain MRI scan, similar to MRI scanning used to diagnose neurological problems in regular patient care, in the Brain Imaging Center)
Participants, parents or guardians will be given a consent form that thoroughly explains all of the details of the study. A member of the study staff will review the consent form with you and your child and will be sure that all of your questions are answered.
What are the good things that can happen from this research?
Your child may not receive a direct medical benefit from participating in this research study. However, your child may learn about the brain and science by participating in this study and may feel good about helping others through scientific research.
When we finish the study, we hope to know more about TS and other problems like ADHD or OCD. This may help other children with these problems later on.