# Computational Modeling of Tic Change Trajectories in Tourette Syndrome

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2024 · $201,488

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 This K23 Career Development Award is designed to provide the training needed for the PI to achieve
her long-term career goal of conducting independent, programmatic intervention research in developmental
populations. The training will emphasize gaining expertise in higher-intensity, multi-method, within-subject data
collection and analysis. This award builds on the PI’s emerging experience in tic disorders and pediatric
behavioral interventions, and her ability to quickly learn and apply advanced statistical methods. The award will
extend the PI’s training through the following short-term training goals: 1) multi-method data collection and
integration (electronic momentary assessment [EMA], wearable devices, neurocognitive tasks), 2) leading and
designing pediatric clinical trials, 3) managing and analyzing large, multilevel datasets, and 4) career
development and contribution to the field. The PI has developed a training plan to accomplish these goals in
concert with her mentors, a team of leading experts in the fields of psychiatry and psychology, who will closely
monitor training through regular meetings. The highly structured training plan also includes a set of formal
coursework and workshops for each training goal to complement the hands-on experience the PI will gain from
leading the research project.
 The objective of this proposal is to comprehensively map symptom change across time and during a
behavioral intervention for youth with Persistent Tic Disorders (PTDs). PTDs affect approximately 1% of the
population, can cause significant disability, have high rates of comorbidity, and are associated with a four-fold
increase in suicide risk. Research has established that tic symptoms and their change over time are highly
idiographic. However, first-line, evidence-based, existing interventions are “one-size-fits-all,” and are only
effective for 60% of patients. The current study aims to use advanced statistical methods and a novel
theoretical framework to map the stability of tic patterns, along with systemic factors that relate to tic change
over time. Study hypotheses, based on the literature and preliminary data, are that a) tic change patterns will
be stable before intervention for all participants, b) disruption of stable patterns during the intervention phase
will be associated with treatment response, and c) this disruption will depend on the specific driver of tic
symptoms pre-intervention. N = 30 youth ages 12-17 with chronic tics will be recruited for the study. There will
be three study phases: 1) pre-intervention (4 weeks), 2) intervention (8 weeks), and 3) post-intervention (4
weeks). Before and between each phase, participants will complete 4 traditional assessments to assess
symptoms and treatment response. Throughout the 16 weeks of the study, we will collect EMA data focused
on factors relevant to tics (4x per day), physiological data from wearable devices (passive, continuous), and
neurocognitive t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10865360
- **Project number:** 1K23MH136409-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Brianna C Wellen
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $201,488
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10865360

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10865360, Computational Modeling of Tic Change Trajectories in Tourette Syndrome (1K23MH136409-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10865360. Licensed CC0.

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