Graduation Year
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Granting Department
Child and Family Studies
Major Professor
Raymond G. Miltenberger, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Douglas Woods, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Timothy Weil, Ph.D.
Keywords
Discrimination Training, Electrodermal, Galvanic Skin Response, Tics, Tic Suppression, Tourette Syndrome
Abstract
Although tic disorders are diagnosed as neurological disorders, neurobehavioral models suggest that tics are controlled by premonitory urges that may be conditioned to become aversive through childhood, and that tics are exhibited to alleviate such phenomena. However, only indirect measures have been used to assess the presence of the premonitory urge. This study utilized self-report and GSR measurements to examine whether a punishing contingency conditioned stimuli to be aversive during conditions of tic suppression and whether punishing contingencies exacerbate aversive private phenomena in two adults. Results indicated that conditions of response cost (RC) and differential reinforcement (DRO) were effective at reducing the number of tics compared to baseline. Moreover, GSR was unrelated to urge and suppression conditions despite higher self-reported urge ratings in DRO and RC conditions. Implications of findings are discussed.
Scholar Commons Citation
Brandt, Bryan, "An Examination of Electrodermal Activity During Tic Suppression in Adults" (2014). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/4990
