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CompletedNCT02960698COGITUpdated Sep 4, 2025

Impulsivity in Tourette Syndrome : Behavioral and Neuroimaging Study

An interventional study of IRM and comportemental tasks in Tourette Syndrome, sponsored by Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-09-04.

Sponsored by Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
98
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

Tourette syndrome (TS) is characterized by the presence of multiple vocal and motor tics. Behavioral disorders associated with TS are common, particularly impulsivity, anti-sociality and socially inappropriate behavior. Specifically, cognitive impulsivity could be the source of these troubles. Its anatomical substrates is based on connections between frontal and striatal areas.

Initially, a battery of behavioral tests measuring different types of impulsivity (motor, cognitive and decision) will be administered on three groups of subjects: TS: 80 patients (40 patients treated and 40 untreated) and 40 healthy volunteers.

Then, investigators will study the fronto-striatal connections in the TS group of 80 patients (40 patients treated and 40 untreated) compared to 40 healthy volunteers using neuroimaging techniques (3T MRI). The techniques used will be functional connectivity study of "resting state" MRI (RS-fMRI) combined with a reconstruction of white matter fibers by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Behavioral performance will be correlated with the correlation imaging data to highlight the functional anatomical substrates of impulsivity in patients with TS.

Finally, investigators will look specifically using functional MRI activation, the anatomical and functional substrates of the three types of impulsivity (motor, cognitive and decision-making).

Through this study, investigators hope to elucidate the anatomical and functional bases of cognitive impulsivity in patients with TS and thus lay the basis for more targeted treatments.

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Conditions studied

  • Tourette Syndrome

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Keywords

  • cognitive impulsivity
  • IRM
  • Tourette Syndrome
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In context

Tourette Syndrome

220 studies on the registry are indexed under Tourette Syndrome; 37 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 98 is above the median of 34 across 166 interventional studies indexed under Tourette Syndrome.

Browse Tourette Syndrome studies →

Lead sponsor

Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France is the lead sponsor of 375 studies on the registry; 82 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

For all subjects:

  • ≥ about 18 and 65 years old
  • About receiving Social Security or universal health coverage or any equivalent plan
  • About who signed the informed consent

For TS patients treated :

  • TS principal diagnosis, based on the DSM-5 criteria
  • Stable pharmacological treatment at least 4 weeks prior to study entry;
  • Possibility of controlling the majority tics of the upper part of the body lying down for at least 10 minutes (frequency tics on YGTSS \<3).

For TS patients untreated:

  • TS principal diagnosis, based on the DSM-5 criteria
  • No psychotropic treatments (neuroleptics, antidepressants or anxiolytics) mentioned at the time of inclusion.
  • Possibility of controlling the majority tics of the upper part of the body lying down for at least 10 minutes (frequency tics on YGTSS \<3).

In healthy volunteers:

  • Normal neurological examination (evaluation MINI).
  • No regular pharmacological treatment with the exception of birth control pills for women

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

For all patients TS:

  • Age \<18 years.
  • Presence One of the following diagnoses Axis I DSM-5: schizophrenic disorders or current psychotic episode or in the past, bipolar disorder, current major depressive disorder autism spectrum.
  • Abus Psychotropic substance dependency or a psychotropic substance, including alcohol (except nicotine).
  • Support Regular / chronic drugs and other xenobiotics tropic psychotropic.
  • Support Treatment with benzodiazepines in the 4 months prior to study entry. -Patient Subject to a measure of legal protection (guardianship, curatorship or safeguard justice). -No private freedom by administrative decision or justice.
  • No Unable to consent and are not subject to a protection measure.
  • Participation In other biomedical research or subjected to an exclusion period for another search.
  • Problems General understanding.
  • Weight Of more than 150 kg.
  • Inability To maintain an upper portion of movement of the body lying down for at least 10 minutes (frequency tics on YGTSS> 3).

In healthy volunteers (HV):

  • psychiatric disorders, cognitive impairment assessed by the MINI scale.
  • About not being able to understand the tasks
  • age \<18 years.
  • No Subject to a measure of legal protection (guardianship, curatorship or safeguard justice).
  • Participation In other biomedical research or subjected to an exclusion period for another search.
  • Not Unable to consent and are not subject to a protection measure.
  • Not private freedom by administrative decision or court

For TS patients (treated and untreated) and HV

  • relative to MRI 3Tesla : pacemaker, cardiac cell or neural stimulator ferromagnetic surgical clips body intraocular or intracranial metallic foreign cochlear implant artificial heart valve or arterial metal surgical equipment metallic material that could concentrate the radio frequency pulses pregnant women, women in labor or lactating aneurism Standing up the eyelids vascular malformation of the brain
  • Topic not wishing to be informed of a clinically significant abnormality discovered during the realization of MRI
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
98 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    TREATED PATIENT WITH TOURETTE SYNDROME

    comportemental tasks included impulsivity tests will performed at V1 Resting state IRM will be performed at V2 40 patients

    Other: IRM and comportemental tasks

  • Active comparator
    UNTREATED PATIENT WITH TOURETTE SYNDROME

    comportemental tasks included impulsivity tests will performed at V1 Resting state IRM will be performed at V2 40 patients

    Other: IRM and comportemental tasks

  • Placebo comparator
    Healthy volunteers

    comportemental tasks included impulsivity tests will performed at V1 Resting state IRM will be performed at V2 80 subjects

    Other: IRM and comportemental tasks

Interventions

  • OtherIRM and comportemental tasks
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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. behavior performance (percentage of correct responses and reaction time)

    Time frame: up to one month

  2. BOLD signal of functional MRI scan

    Time frame: up to one month

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Study locations

1 site
  • HARTMANN
    Paris, Île-de-France Region 75013, France
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References and documents

Publications

  • Atkinson-Clement C, de Liege A, Klein Y, Beranger B, Valabregue R, Delorme C, Roze E, Fernandez-Egea E, Hartmann A, Robbins TW, Worbe Y. The sooner the better: clinical and neural correlates of impulsive choice in Tourette disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 2021 Nov 3;11(1):560. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01691-2. PubMed 34732691 ↗
  • Atkinson-Clement C, Sofia F, Fernandez-Egea E, de Liege A, Beranger B, Klein Y, Deniau E, Roze E, Hartmann A, Worbe Y. Structural and functional abnormalities within sensori-motor and limbic networks underpin intermittent explosive symptoms in Tourette disorder. J Psychiatr Res. 2020 Jun;125:1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.02.033. Epub 2020 Mar 4. PubMed 32169732 ↗
  • Atkinson-Clement C, Porte CA, de Liege A, Wattiez N, Klein Y, Beranger B, Valabregue R, Sofia F, Hartmann A, Pouget P, Worbe Y. Neural correlates and role of medication in reactive motor impulsivity in Tourette disorder. Cortex. 2020 Apr;125:60-72. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.12.007. Epub 2019 Dec 30. PubMed 31978743 ↗
  • Atkinson-Clement C, Porte CA, de Liege A, Klein Y, Delorme C, Beranger B, Valabregue R, Gallea C, Robbins TW, Hartmann A, Worbe Y. Impulsive prepotent actions and tics in Tourette disorder underpinned by a common neural network. Mol Psychiatry. 2021 Jul;26(7):3548-3557. doi: 10.1038/s41380-020-00890-5. Epub 2020 Sep 29. PubMed 32994553 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 4, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02960698
Lead sponsor
Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 10, 2016
Start date
Oct 14, 2016
Primary completion
Apr 24, 2018
Completion
Apr 24, 2018
Last update
Sep 4, 2025

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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