An interventional study of Structured dance/movement and Physical exercise/body coordination in Functional Neurological Disorder, sponsored by King's College London. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-26.
Sponsored by King's College London · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Building on evidence for somatic or physical interventions in functional neurological disorder (FND), the goal of this study is to test the feasibility of a structured dance/movement task in individuals with FND, and explore the potential use of somatic or body-based therapies in this population.
The primary study outcomes will be the feasibility and acceptability of a structured dance/movement therapy (DMT) intervention for individuals diagnosed with FND. The study will also explore whether this type of intervention has potential to contribute to elevating trust in the body and general wellbeing, alongside reducing functional neurological and dissociative symptoms.
Researchers will compare structured dance/movement therapy to a physical exercise/body coordination condition.
Functional neurological disorder (FND) sits in between neurology and psychiatry, including symptoms like tremors, limb weakness, functional seizures, and sensory issues. Previous research has found elevated dissociative symptoms (i.e., feelings of detachment or disconnection from the self or surroundings) and/or dissociative disorder comorbidities (i.e., dissociative identity disorder, dissociative amnesia) in FND populations relative to the general population. There is also emerging evidence for alterations in aspects of bodily awareness in FND, specifically including a lack of trust in the body and an increased tendency or likelihood to distract from bodily sensations, and atypical autonomic reactivity. These alterations may contribute to, or play a role in the experience of, FND symptoms.
Dance/movement therapy (DMT) may be a potentially beneficial intervention for disorders characterized by bodily symptoms or feelings of disconnection from the self, including FND. Generally, DMT is based on the premise that psychological and bodily experiences reciprocally influence one another and has been shown to improve health-related psychological outcomes and wellbeing in a range of populations (e.g., fibromyalgia, brain trauma). Previous research has shown promise for body-based approaches for the treatment of dissociation and trauma-related distress, encouraging individuals to attend to their bodies/bodily sensations.
Previous research demonstrates reductions in bodily disconnection post-DMT in individuals with Depersonalization-Derealization disorder, a dissociative disorder that, like FND, involves disconnections from the self and surroundings and alterations to bodily awareness (lack of trusting the body, difficulties with attention regulation). Using structured DMT for FND may help to encourage a conscious connection to the body/surroundings in the here and now, as well as a recognition of bodily states and, in turn, an adaptive regulation of them. The feasibility of dance/movement therapy has not yet been tested in FND and may provide new avenues for treatment.
89 studies on the registry are indexed under Conversion Disorder; 34 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 38 across 51 interventional studies indexed under Conversion Disorder.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Participants will receive a structured dance/movement therapy programme over a period of five weeks
Other: Structured dance/movement
Participants will receive a physical exercise/body coordination programme over a period of five weeks
Other: Physical exercise/body coordination
Fifteen participants will be randomly assigned using a computer-generated allocation sequence to the dance/movement intervention. This will involve a combination of light stretching, warming up using contact with a stress ball, and aerobic dance movements which follow the rhythm of a piece of music. It will be accessible to a range of abilities and will take \~30 minutes. This intervention has been developed with the aim of: * Enhancing adaptive bodily awareness, allowing the participant to feel more safe and at home in their body while promoting accurate and non-judgmental detection of bodily signals * Working with rhythms and coordinated movements leading to the elevation of the salience of bodily signals (heartbeat, sweating) in a structured setting - promoting adaptive noticing of signals in the body, not distracting from what one might be feeling. * Helping participants to engage with their body, notice and sense what they're feeling, and feel more comfortable moving their body.
Fifteen participants will be randomly assigned to this task. This will involve simple functional stretches, balances and limb coordination exercises and will use only neutral instructions. It will be accessible to a range of abilities and will take \~30 minutes. This task has been developed as the control condition with the following in mind: * Including functional movement matched for level of aerobic intensity to the dance/movement task. * Matching the length of the task and level of contact with the lead researcher/research team. * No prompts or explicit instructions to focus on bodily sensations, the self or body in the present moment, or to move in an expressive way; purely focused on mobility and physical functioning.
Feasibility of the intervention: Recruitment
The number/proportion of eligible participants who consent to participate in the study by 29/05/2026
Time frame: Up to 16 weeks
Feasibility of the intervention: Adherence
The number/proportion of in-person visits and mid-point calls attended and completed. The number of days the task was completed during the at-home periods.
Time frame: Up to 20 weeks
Feasibility of the intervention: Withdrawal
The number/proportion of enrolled (consented) participants who withdraw from the study prior to completion.
Time frame: Up to 20 weeks
Feasibility of the intervention: Adverse events
The number and nature of adverse events reported during study participation.
Time frame: Up to 20 weeks
Feasibility of the intervention: Acceptability
Qualitative measures of perceived benefit of the intervention, barriers and facilitating factors, experiences of study procedures.
Time frame: Up to 20 weeks
Clinical Global Impression - Improvement Scale
This is a one question measure that assesses self-reported current symptom severity relative to study intake. Patients will rate their current functional neurological disorder symptoms using this 7-point scale (1=very much improved; 2=much improved; 3=minimally improved; 4=no change; 5=minimally worse; 6= much worse; 7=very much worse).
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Functional Neurological Symptoms Questionnaire
Measures the presence, impact, and severity of functional neurological symptoms including seizures, tremors, etc.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness - 2
A 37-item self-report questionnaire assessing various abilities relating to awareness and recognition of bodily experiences, including eight subscales: Noticing, Not-Distracting, Not- Worrying, Attention Regulation, Emotional Awareness, Self-Regulation, Body Listening, Trust. Each question is rated from 0-5, and average scores are calculated across the items for each subscale. Higher scores on all subscales indicate better outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire
A 39-item scale with five facets (Observing, Describing, Acting with Awareness, Non-Judging, Non-Reactivity) measuring trait mindfulness in everyday life each facet. Each question is rated from 1-5, with higher scores indicating better outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Cognitive Behavioural Response Questionnaire - Short Form
An 18-item self-report scale to capture cognitive and behavioural responses to symptoms with six subscales: Fear Avoidance, Damaging Beliefs, Embarrassment Avoidance, Symptom Focusing, All-or-Nothing Behaviour, Resting Behaviour. Each question is rated from 0-4, with higher scores across subscales indicating worse outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Multiscale Dissociation Inventory
A 30-item self-report measure that assesses different types of psychological dissociative symptoms across five subscales: Disengagement, Depersonalisation, Derealisation, Memory Disturbance, Emotional Constriction, and Identity Dissociation. Each question is rated on a scale from 1-5, with total scores on each subscale (ranging from 5-25) converted into T scores once calculated. Higher scores indicate worse outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Toronto Alexithymia Scale - 20
A 20-item self-report questionnaire assessing alexithymia across a total score and three subscales: Difficulty Describing Feelings, Difficulty Identifying Feelings, Externally Oriented Thinking. Total scores range from 20-200, with higher scores indicating worse outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Work & Social Adjustment Scale
A five-item self-report measure assessing impairments in social and occupational functioning. Total scores range from 0-40, with higher scores indicating worse outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Short-Form Health Survey
A 36-item measure of health-related quality-of-life over the past four weeks across eight subscales: Physical Functioning, Role Limitations Due to Physical Health, Role Limitations Due to Emotional Problems, Energy and Fatigue, Emotional Wellbeing, Social Functioning, Pain, and General Health. Individual items are rated from 1-6 and, after participant ratings, each item is recoded on a 0-100 scale, with higher scores indicating better outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Body Perception Questionnaire - ANS
A 20-item scale measuring autonomic nervous system symptoms in everyday life. Total scores range from 20-100, with higher scores indicating worse outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Body Perception Questionnaire - VSF
A 12-item scale measuring awareness of particular sensations within the body. Total scores range from 12-60, with higher scores indicating greater sensitivity to internal bodily sensations.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2.5, Week 5, Week 9
Cardiac interoceptive accuracy
Measured using a heartbeat tracking task (HTT) in the laboratory. Participants are asked to pay attention to and count the number of heartbeats they feel over different periods of time to determine how accurate they are with regards to this, over four trials.
Time frame: Day 1 baseline, Day 1 post single intervention session, Week 5
Cardiac interoceptive confidence
Measured using a heartbeat tracking task (HTT) in the laboratory. Participants are asked to judge their level of confidence in how accurate the are in detecting their heartbeats over four trials within the task.
Time frame: Day 1 baseline, Day 1 post single intervention session, Week 5
Time estimation accuracy
A control task to the heartbeat tracking task (HTT) where participants are asked to count seconds over differing periods of time to measure their accuracy with regards to time perception, over four trials.
Time frame: Day 1 baseline, Day 1 post single intervention session, Week 5
Time estimation confidence
A control task to the heartbeat tracking task where participants are asked to count seconds over differing periods of time to, indicating their confidence in this ability over four trials.
Time frame: Day 1 baseline, Day 1 post single intervention session, Week 5
Physiological and psychological states
Measured in the laboratory. Self-report questions of current state pain, bodily/autonomic arousal, fatigue, functional neurological symptoms, and dissociation.
Time frame: Day 1 baseline, Day 1 post single intervention session, Week 5
Autonomic arousal
Participants will be asked to wear sensors to measure their heartrate and electrical conductivity of the skin (measures of physiological/autonomic arousal). Heartrate will be measured with electrocardiography: two sensors will be attached under the collarbones and one on the left ankle. Electrical conductivity of the skin/electrodermal activity will be measured with two sensors on the index and middle fingers of the non- dominant hand. The electrocardiography sensors will also be worn during completion of the heartbeat tracking and time estimation tasks.
Time frame: Day 1 baseline, Day 1 post single intervention session, Week 5
At-home Diary Sheet: ease of task performance
Completed on days when participants perform the intervention or control task at home. Post task, participants are asked to indicate on a 1-7 Likert scale (1: very easy, 7: very difficult) how easy it was to perform the task.
Time frame: Day 3, Day 6, Day 9, Day 12, Day 15, Day 18, Day 21, Day 24, Day 27, Day 30
At-home Diary Sheet: feeling during task performance
Completed on days when participants perform the intervention or control task at home. Post task, participants are asked to indicate on a 1-7 Likert scale (1: very bad, 7: very good) how they felt while performing the task.
Time frame: Day 3, Day 6, Day 9, Day 12, Day 15, Day 18, Day 21, Day 24, Day 27, Day 30
At-home Diary Sheet: physical states
Completed on days when participants perform the intervention or control task at home. Likert scale from 1-7 (1: not at all, 7: extremely) measuring current state: pain, bodily arousal, fatigue, functional neurological symptoms (e.g., tremors, weakness, seizures, tingling/numbness).
Time frame: Day 3, Day 6, Day 9, Day 12, Day 15, Day 18, Day 21, Day 24, Day 27, Day 30
At-home Diary Sheet: state dissociation
Completed on days when participants perform the intervention or control task at home. Ten questions of state dissociation (e.g., feeling detached from oneself and surroundings) from the Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale, measured on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely) and total scores ranging from 0-40.
Time frame: Day 3, Day 6, Day 9, Day 12, Day 15, Day 18, Day 21, Day 24, Day 27, Day 30
At-home Diary Sheet: autonomic arousal
Completed on days when participants perform the intervention or control task at home. Post task, two questions regarding the ability to currently feel one's heartbeat (yes/no) and if one is currently sweating (yes/no).
Time frame: Day 3, Day 6, Day 9, Day 12, Day 15, Day 18, Day 21, Day 24, Day 27, Day 30
At-home Diary Sheet: open comments
Completed on days when participants perform the intervention or control task at home. Open comments box for participants to add any thoughts or feelings about the session.
Time frame: Day 3, Day 6, Day 9, Day 12, Day 15, Day 18, Day 21, Day 24, Day 27, Day 30
Plan to share: Undecided — The datasets of the study will be available from the corresponding author on reasonable request after the findings have been published in relevant peer-reviewed journals.
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