This page highlights current research projects in the area of functional neurological disorder (FND). If you would like to learn more about any of the studies, please follow the links below. If you are a researcher and want your project added to the website, please complete the Research Project Submission Form.
Perspectives of Children, Caregivers, and Physical Therapists regarding Physical Therapy Services for Functional Neurologic Disorder
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Emily Gard |
Anyone interested in participating can contact Emily Gard or can complete the screening survey via the link or QR code on the flyer. The screening survey asks questions to determine if you are eligible or not. If you are eligible, the survey will request your contact information so that we can reach out, provide you with additional information, and schedule a time for the interview. Participants will be sent the consent documents to review before the interview. You will be asked to complete an online demographics survey and a virtual interview (via Zoom). Flyers are linked below with additional information.
Project Start Date: September 7, 2025
Project End Date: September 7, 2026
Physiotherapy interventions for Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in a paediatric population: A qualitative study exploring physiotherapists’ experiences of management of paediatric patients with FND.
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Leah Morris |
Introduction
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in children is a complex condition which can include motor, sensory, and cognitive symptoms, significantly impacting a child's quality of life. Despite increasing incidence of FND in children, there is limited evidence guiding physiotherapy interventions and outcome measures in paediatric populations. Existing literature highlights underreporting of intervention detail, lack of validated outcome tools, and inconsistent multidisciplinary collaboration, creating challenges for clinical decision-making and care consistency.
Methods
This qualitative study aims to explore physiotherapists’ experiences in assessing and treating children with FND. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with UK-based
physiotherapists (Band 5 and above), recruited via professional networks through convenience sampling. Interviews will be conducted online, recorded, and transcribed using Microsoft Teams. The interview guide is informed by a prior scoping review and will be piloted for clarity.
Analysis
Data will be analysed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s (2006 approach. A semantic coding strategy will be employed to identify explicit meanings in the data. Themes will be refined iteratively, and member checking will be used to validate interpretations. Findings will be contextualised within existing literature and the research team’s previous scoping review.
Conclusion
This study addresses a critical gap in paediatric FND care by identifying key components of physiotherapy interventions, collaborative practices, and meaningful outcome measures. Results will inform future intervention design and outcome measure development, supporting improved clinical reasoning and patient outcomes. Dissemination will include academic publications and conference presentations.
Project Start Date: September 18, 2025
Project End Date: July 7, 2026
Illness representations and coping styles in people with Functional Seizures
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Dhillon Lad, D.Lad@newcastle.ac.uk |
Functional Seizures (FS), also known as Non Epileptic Attack Disorder or Psychogenic Non Epileptic Seizures, are episodes that resemble epileptic seizures but are not caused by abnormal brain activity. FS can lead to considerable emotional distress, including anxiety and depression, and significantly affect daily functioning, such as work and social life. Despite this impact, there is still limited understanding of how individuals with FS perceive and cope with their condition.
This study explores illness representations: people’s beliefs and expectations about their illness, including its cause, duration, consequences, and controllability. Research suggests that individuals with FS often view their condition as unpredictable and uncontrollable, which may be linked to less adaptive coping strategies, such as avoidance. Another focus of the study is Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), which refers to difficulty managing situations that are ambiguous or unpredictable. We hypothesise that higher IU may contribute to avoidant coping in individuals with FS.
The study will recruit up to 194 adults diagnosed with FS through two pathways: a specialist non epileptic attack disorder service and online recruitment. Participants will complete a survey gathering demographic and seizure related information, and validated self report measures of illness representations, coping styles, IU, anxiety, depression, and the functional impact of FS.
The main analysis will examine relationships between these variables, including mediation analysis to explore whether IU helps explain the link between illness representations and coping styles. Findings may offer insights to guide improved psychological support and treatment for those living with FS.
https://nclpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3q3L4H6tfTJt5gW
Project Start Date: 07 January 2025
Project End Date: 03 April 2026
Virtual Reality in the Management of Functional Neurological Communication Disorders
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Dr. Catherine Gregory Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is an umbrella term for neurological disorders that are caused by dysfunction within |
Project Start Date: January 1, 2025
Project End Date: January 1, 2027
FND_LIMA.COM (Functional Neurological Disorders in Lima and effect of Complementary Medicine)
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Lucia Tesolin, MD (FNDS Member) |
This study, conducted in cooperation with Essalud (Seguro Social de Salud) National Health System aims to analyse the frequency and the socio-demographic characteristics of patients with FND in Latino America: in particular it will be conducted, during 18 months, in the Neurology Department of Rebagliati Hospital, in Lima-Peru', which serves a population of 12 million inhabitants, from different economic and cultural backgrounds. Previously published studies on the prevalence/incidence of FND, have been conducted mainly in westernised countries, regarding Latin America, there are just a couple of studies concerning mainly pseudo-epileptic seizures.
This project can add awareness about the frequency of these symptoms in Latino-American's countries, such as Peru, that have a different culture, economic income and lifestyle.The literature reports that FNDs represent important costs for health systems and that if they are not adequately handled with specific treatment, they tend to become chronic.
In this respect, this project also aims to evaluate the effect of treatment with complementary medicine techniques (such as yoga, reflexotherapy, acupuncture) compared to the effect of correct communication of the diagnosis alone. Some complementary medicine techniques have already been introduced into the treatment protocols of some FND-rehabilitation centres. The present study proposes the use of these techniques, which can be offered free of charge in Peru, to patients registered in the health system (Seguro Social), and which are often proposed as group sessions, thus representing a limited investment of resources and personnel. If the results show their effectiveness, their use could be extended elsewhere.
Project Start Date: February 19, 2024
Project End Date: February 18, 2026
IdenTics - Identification of Tics and functional Tic-like Movements using an AI-approach
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Thomas Lehmann The aim of the IdenTics project (Identification of Tics and functional Tic-like movements using an artificial intelligence approach) is to use AI to correctly categorize people with tics, functional tic-like movements or both symptoms using videos. Since such a study requires the largest possible number of videos, we are looking for people with the above symptoms who are willing to send us a video of themselves. The video would first be assessed by experts in tic-disorders. The video will then be anonymized so that it can no longer be traced back to the shown person and re-evaluated using an AI model. The AI model is supposed to ‘learn’ to make the correct diagnosis. If this is successful, the care of people with tics and functional tic-like movements could be improved, as the AI model can already make a preliminary assessment. Important key points: - Participation in the study is possible from home and takes approximately one hour.- There are no limitations regarding gender, age or onset of the condition. It is just important that either Tics, functional Tic-like movements or both are existent. - No formal diagnosis is needed. - Ethnic diversity is highly desired. The more diverse people from different backgrounds participate, the better the model can be used, working less biased. - Professional equipment is not needed: The quality of a mobile phone / laptop webcam video is more than sufficient. The video should be around 5 minutes long. |
Project Start Date: December 2, 2024
Project End Date: June 30, 2026
Retraining and Control Therapy (ReACT): Sense of Control and Symptom Expectations as Targets of a Treatment for PNES
Aaron D. Fobian, PhD (FNDS Member)
The purpose of this study is to assess sense of control and catastrophic symptom expectations as targets for Retraining and Control Therapy (ReACT- an intervention focused on changing behaviors and thoughts) for treatment of pediatric psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES, episodes resembling epileptic seizures but not correlated with epileptiform discharges). 11-18-year-olds diagnosed with PNES will engage in twelve sessions of ReACT or another therapy commonly used to treat PNES. Sense of control over actions will be measured by the magic and turbulence task, a well-validated measure of sense of control. Participants will complete the cold pressor test (CPT) in which participants hold their hand in cool water for as long as possible up to 3 minutes. Catastrophic symptom expectations in response to the CPT will be measured by Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Children (PCS-C) pain tolerance (time with hand in water) and cortisol response. Target assessments will occur 7 days before treatment, 7 days after 12th treatment session, 6 months and 12 months after the 12th treatment session. PNES frequency will be measured from 30 days before to 12 months after treatment.
Project Start Date: October 1, 2021
Project End Date: June 30, 2026
FND Research Connect
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David Palmer (FNDS Member) |
FND Research Connect is a database which registers people to be sent invitations for new studies as they begin, as well as allowing them to help with research by anonymously updating us about how their symptoms change over time. After our initial launch in Australia, we have over 300 members, and are now ready to launch worldwide. Both people with FND who have symptoms at the moment and people who are in remission from FND can sign up at www.fnd-research.org. Interested friends and relatives (and healthcare providers) can also sign up there as controls for research, which for some studies are just as important as people with FND. Signing up online takes about five minutes, and people will be asked to do a 1-2 minute update questionnaire every four months after that.
Project Start Date: March 13, 2024
Project End Date: March 13, 2027
Mega-Analysis of Structural Connectivity in Functional Neurological Disorder
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Petr Sojka (Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical Neuroscience, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic) |
We are currently conducting a mega-analysis focused on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data in FND. Our goal is to integrate and analyze data across studies to enhance our understanding of FND.
We would greatly appreciate your participation in this initiative by sharing DWI-datasets of FND patients and controls that you have collected, whether from published studies or ongoing research. Researchers who contribute data to the project will become co-authors on all project-associated publications.
The project is conducted in close collaboration with the Neuroimaging Committee of the FND Society with oversight from Prof. Selma Aybek and Assc. Prof. David Perez. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of data privacy and ethical integrity. Details on how we transfer and handle the data will be shared with you before you agree to share your data.
Please leave fill out the Google form here you are interested in joining this mega-analysis!
If you have any questions, please email Lenny Marapin at petr.sojka@lf1.cuni.cz