title: A revised method for measuring distraction by tactile stimulation.
abstract: Sensory hypersensitivity (SH) refers to the tendency to attend to subtle stimuli, to persist in attending to them, and to find them noxious. SH is relatively common in several developmental disorders including Tourette Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder (TS/CTD). This study was an attempt to quantify the extent to which a mild tactile stimulus distracts one's attention in TS/CTD. Fourteen adults with TS/CTD and 14 tic-free control subjects completed questionnaires regarding SH and ADHD, and TS/CTD subjects completed self-report measures of current and past tic disorder symptoms and of current obsessions and compulsions. All subjects performed a sustained attention choice reaction time task during alternating blocks in which a mildly annoying stimulus (von Frey hair) was applied to the ankle ("ON") or was not applied ("OFF"). We present here the clinical and cognitive task data for each subject.
authors.affiliation: School of Arts and Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Schechter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA ; Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA.
authors.forename: Deanna J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Koller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA ; Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA ; Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA ; Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Black