Retraining and Control Therapy (ReACT): Sense of Control and Symptom Expectations as Targets of a Treatment for PNES

PNES participants and their parent come to our laboratory for a baseline visit, 2 follow-up visits and 12 therapy sessions. Participants will complete 2 long-term follow-up visits at 6 months and 12 months after the 12th treatment session via HIPAA-compliant Zoom. Half of the participants will be randomized to receive 2 booster therapy sessions after treatment. Participants must provide EEG results indicating a diagnosis of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. During the initial visit, participants and their parent will complete several questionnaires assessing demographics, mood and suicidality, relationships with friends and family, as well as past and current PNES symptoms. They will also complete the childhood trauma questionnaire. The treatment targets (sense of control and catastrophic symptom expectations), will be measured by the magic and turbulence computer task and pain tolerance, PCS-C and cortisol response to the CPT, respectively. After completing the CPT, participants will be randomized to receive a pain relief lotion or a pain sensitivity lotion. Participants will then repeat the CPT with the lotion applied to their hand. PNES diaries will be completed to assess PNES frequency over the previous 30 days. The baseline lab visit will last about 3 hours. Saliva will be collected over 3 time points before and after each CPT to measure cortisol response to the CPT. Participants will also collect 2 saliva samples 24 hours later to serve as a baseline outside of the laboratory setting. Participants will also be given a Respironics Actiwatch Spectrum Pro to track sleep and PNES episode severity and frequency for the 1 week between the baseline visit and first ReACT session. All participants will then be scheduled to return in one week for their first of 12 sessions of ReACT. Before beginning the first ReACT session, participants will complete the Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention, List Sorting Working Memory, Pattern Comparison Processing Speed, Dimensional Change Card Sort, and Picture Sequence Memory subtests. This first session will last a maximum of two hours, and the following 11 sessions will be scheduled weekly and will each last one hour. The following 11 sessions are currently conducted via telehealth due to COVID-19. Participants will be mailed another Respironics Actiwatch Spectrum Pro before the 11th therapy session to track sleep and PENS episode severity and frequency for the 2 weeks between the 11th therapy session and the lab visit one week after the 12th treatment session. To assess treatment dose, participants will return for post lab visits one week after the 8th treatment session and 12th treatment sessions to perform tasks and fill out questionnaires completed at baseline. Long-term follow-up at 6 months and 12 months after treatment will also be conducted to assess FS frequency and questionnaires. Participants will complete the Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention, List Sorting Working Memory, Pattern Comparison Processing Speed, Dimensional Change Card Sort, and Picture Sequence Memory subtests at the lab visit after the 12th treatment session. Each of these sessions will last about 1 to 2 hours. PNES frequency will be measured from 30 days before treatment to 12 months after treatment through PNES diaries completed by the parent and the participant. After treatment, half of the participants will be randomized to receive 2 booster therapy sessions at 3 months and 9 months after the end of treatment. Each of these sessions will last one hour. Healthy controls are matched to participants with PNES based on age (+ or - 1 year), gender, race and family income. Healthy controls and their parent come for a baseline laboratory visit and a follow up visit 13 weeks after the baseline visit. The baseline and follow-up appointments for healthy controls will be identical to the visits for children with PNES.