HWN Suggests

Tackling Tics: Understanding the Brain-Basis of Tic Disorders

There is no simple, clear-cut explanation for why tics occur and how the brain causes them. Persistent tic disorders are complex conditions, so it makes sense that there is likely a complex explanation! While tics are the most visible symptom, a number of co-occurring conditions and symptoms are common in children and adults with persistent tic disorders. These include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), sensory processing issues, executive dysfunction, and sleep difficulties. No two individuals are affected in exactly the same way, and may experience a different combination of symptoms. But for most people,…

read full article

Featured

 So you’ve noticed my tic

I’ve had both simple and complex tics throughout my life. But my nervous tics seemed to settle in my face as I became older, as my older brother Nathan’s did. Both of us now seem to be prone to excessively blinking and scrunching up our faces in some way — a simple tic.

Articles of Interest

[Self-Test] Tic Disorder in Adults

Use this simple self-quiz to determine if your involuntary movements or sounds may be signs of a tic disorder. Discuss the results with a trained medical professional.

Finding help for Tic Disorders

Tic disorders can range in severity from those which involve only temporary eye-blinking to those which produce more disturbing symptoms. ''The most handicapping form is Tourette's syndrome.

Immune dysfunction and tic disorders in adults

The late-onset of tic disorders in adults is uncommon. Tic disorders are thought to be childhood syndromes. In some cases, the onset may be a recurrence of a tic disorder from childhood. Several studies indicate that tic disorders in adults may be more prevalent than we recognize.

Medication Choices in Children With Tic Disorders...

Tic disorder (TD) is a common childhood neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor or vocal twitching in one or more parts of the muscles and is sudden, involuntary, repeated, rapid, and purposeless (Yang et al., 2020). TD is categorized as transient, chronic, Tourette syndrome, or undefined

My 12-Year-Old Has Suddenly Developed a Noticeable Vocal Tic

We’ve been in remote schooling since we went home last March. In November, our sixth grade son started to develop a vocal tic. He makes repetitive sounds like “buh guh luh ruh.” This happens randomly, although we’ve noticed it happens more when he’s feeling stressed out or when he’s doing something passive like listening to music or watching a video.

Rapid Onset Functional Tic-Like Behaviors in Young Females During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our colleagues working at eight different Tourette syndrome (TS) clinics globally have witnessed a parallel pandemic of young people aged 12 to 25 years (almost exclusively girls and women) presenting with the rapid onset of complex motor and vocal tic-like behaviors. In most cases, these behavioral patterns are consistent with a functional neurological disorder.

Rise in tics is caused by a known condition – and its not all due to TikTok

Where there is some mystery is exactly why some people get functional tics, although we don’t exactly know why people get Tourette’s syndrome either. Since the time of Sigmund Freud, the blame has been placed on stress or psychological conflicts. These days, we still recognise the role of stress in making people vulnerable to FND, and in triggering it.

Tic disorders revisited: introduction of the term “tic spectrum disorders”

Primary tic disorders are a group of childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorders that are defined by the presence of one or more motor and/or phonic (= vocal) tics for a time period of less or more than 1 year. Tics typically have a waxing and waning course.

TikTok tics are a symptom of a much bigger problem

Reports of teens developing tic-like behaviors after watching TikTok videos highlight something most of us don’t consider about mental health: symptoms can be social.

Understanding how tics are suppressed may help some at risk for tic disorders

Identifying kids who control their tics may help others at risk for Tourette syndrome.

Resources

TicTastic

https://www.tictastic.com/

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

A tic is a problem in which a part of the body moves repeatedly, quickly, suddenly, and uncontrollably. Tics can occur in any body part, such as the face, shoulders, hands, or legs. They can be stopped voluntarily for brief periods. Sounds that are made involuntarily (such as throat clearing or sniffing) are called vocal tics. Most tics are mild and hardly noticeable. However, in some cases they are frequent and severe, and can affect many areas of a child's life.

CDC

The tic disorders differ from each other in terms of the type of tic present (motor or vocal, or a combination of both), and how long the symptoms have lasted. People with Tourette syndrome have both motor and vocal tics and have had tic symptoms for at least 1 year. People with persistent motor or vocal tic disorders have either motor or vocal tics and have had tic symptoms for at least 1 year.

CHOC

Tics are sudden, uncontrolled movements or sounds that are repeated frequently, such as throat clearing or eye squinting. Tic disorders can affect children and adults, and they usually last less than a year. Tics often become worse when a person is stressed, tired or anxious. Tic disorders are substantially more frequent in boys than in girls, and a family history of tics is common.

ScienceDirect

All in all, tic disorders and pediatric OCD are model neuropsychiatric disorders in which to investigate the complex relationship between brain functioning, autoimmunity, and human behavior, in an interplay between genetic and environmental factors.