Neurobiology of Behavior Therapy for Children with Tourette Syndrome

描述（由申请人提供）：这个指导研究科学家发展奖（K 01）应用程序概述了跨越行为治疗和发育神经生理学领域的职业发展计划，特别关注Tourette综合征（TS）。本申请的短期目标是通过一项集中培训计划，并通过研究抽动减少行为疗法对TS儿童近中-额叶EEG α相干性的影响，发展最先进的电生理学方法的专业知识。K 01的长期目标是开发一个独立的研究项目，确定儿童神经精神障碍的神经生物学标志物和行为干预机制。通过培训，我是一名临床心理学家，擅长儿童行为治疗。我还在耶鲁儿童研究中心完成了为期三年的NIMH资助的儿童神经精神疾病博士后研究奖学金，并对TS儿童进行了小规模的临床研究。2003年7月，我被任命为儿童研究中心的副研究员。从那时起，我参与了两项研究，促进了这项职业奖的准备：1）由行为科学联盟（BSC）进行的减少抽搐行为疗法的多位点疗效研究; 2）在耶鲁大学发育电生理学实验室进行的TS额纹状体功能研究。这个KO 1将使我能够发展技能并获得必要的知识，成功地为行为科学和基础神经科学之间的接口做出贡献。我很幸运，有一个优秀的导师和顾问团队，为神经生理学，发育神经科学实验方法以及临床研究的设计和实施提供指导。本申请中提出的研究计划是一项随机对照研究，对36名8-12岁患有TS的儿童进行结构化行为治疗以减少抽搐。该应用程序建立在运动抑制的神经心理学测量可以预测对行为治疗的反应的研究结果的基础上，并且近中-额叶EEG α相干性的增加可以与成功的抽动抑制相关。该研究旨在通过评估治疗期间和治疗后抽动减少与EEG α相干性之间的关联，深入了解抽动减少行为治疗的神经生物学机制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) application outlines a program of career development spanning the fields of behavioral therapy and developmental neurophysiology, with a specific focus on Tourette Syndrome (TS). The short-term objective of this application is to develop expertise in the state-of-the-art methods of electrophysiology through a program of focused training and by conducting a study of the effects of a behavior therapy for tic reduction on mesial-frontal EEG alpha coherence in children with TS. The long-term objective of this K01 is to develop an independent program of research that identifies neurobiological markers and mechanisms of behavioral interventions for child neuropsychiatric disorders. By training, I am a clinical psychologist with expertise in child behavior therapy. I have also completed a three year NIMH funded postdoctoral research fellowship in childhood neuropsychiatric disorders at the Yale Child Study Center and conducted small scale clinical studies in children with TS. I was appointed Associate Research Scientist in the Child Study Center in July of 2003. Since that time, I have become involved in two lines of research that stimulated the preparation of this career award: 1) multi- site efficacy studies of behavior therapy for tic reduction conducted by the Behavioral Sciences Consortium (BSC) and 2) studies of fronto-striatal function in TS conducted in the Yale developmental electrophysiology lab. This KO1 would allow me to develop skills and acquire knowledge necessary to successfully contribute to the interface between behavioral science and basic neuroscience. I am fortunate to have an outstanding group of mentors and advisors to provide guidance with respect to required training in experimental methods in neurophysiology, developmental neuroscience, and the design and conduct of clinical research. The research plan presented in this application is a randomized controlled study of structured behavior therapy for tic reduction in 36 children, aged 8-12, with TS. This application builds on findings that neuropsychological measures of motor inhibition can predict response to behavior therapy and that increases in mesial-frontal EEG alpha coherence can be associated with successful tic suppression. The proposed study is designed to gain insight into the neurobiological mechanisms of behavior therapy for tic reduction by evaluating the association between tic reduction and EEG alpha coherence during and after the treatment.