Tourette's Syndrome And Neurocognitive Disorders

Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by tics; involuntary, rapid, sudden movements or vocalizations that occur repeatedly in the same way. Diagnostic criteria include: both multiple motor and one or more vocal tics present at some time, although not necessarily simultaneously, the occurrence of tics many times a day (usually in bouts) nearly everyday or intermittently throughout the span of more than one year; period changes in the number, frequently, type and location of the tics, and in the waxing and waning of their severity. Symptoms can sometimes disappear for weeks and or months at a time; and the onset is before the age of 18.

As mentioned above, TS can occur in anyone, even famous people. Some of the famous people that had TS were Jim Eisenreich, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Marc Summers. TS does not disable a person from working efficiently or living a perfectly normal life. People with TS can attend and succeed school just as a normal person can. The disorder does not affect their intelligence or their ability to learn, thus enabling them to live a perfectly normal life. They have the same earning potential, intelligence, and working ability similar to any other person.

Tourette Syndrome, or TS, affects approximately one hundred thousand Americans of whom you will find in a variety of professions and social settings (7). It is a neurological disease which is characterized by repeated and involuntary body movements and vocal sounds. Before TS was known to be a health problem uncontrollable by the patient, it was seen as nervousness, possession by a spirit, epilepsy or simply as bad habits (5). Today it is known that imbalances in certain brain chemicals are what causes the symptoms of this disease. It is interesting to examine TS and use it as a tool for better understanding (in part) how, in what quantity, and at what level the brain (and the nervous system as a whole) contribute to

Dr. say there are many types of Tourette's, in motor Tourette's there are uncontrollable movements like eye blinking, shoulder shrugging, head jerking, and many other body movements. Vocal tics would be one like humming, whistling, throat clearing, or sniffing. This sort of disability lasts up to 6 to 7 years. A lot of the first symptoms start in the facial area and later on move to tics in the arms or legs, and males are 3 to 4 times likely to have Tourette's than

Tourette’s syndrome is a disorder where the affected individual will consistently exhibit “tics”. In the majority of cases these ticks are minor in character, it may just be the urge to blink, or make certain facial gestures. Less than 15% of individuals exhibit coprolalia, which is the unwarranted exclamations of profanities or other socially forbidden remarks. Perhaps those in our generation who are aware of Tourette’s syndrome have learned its symptoms through pop culture, which has glamorized (to some extent) the more severe cases of Tourette’s syndrome in YouTube videos or the animated satire of South Park. Most with Tourette’s syndrome have been diagnosed 5-8 years in childhood and experience the waning of the number and severity of

The main symptoms of Tourette syndrome are tics, involuntary muscle movements (Bjorklund 12). Although unpredictable, tics are more likely to happen when people are sick or anxious (20). The two types of tics, physical and vocal, can range from mild to severe (12). Mild vocal tics include: spitting, sneezing, throat clearing, coughing, sniffing, and grunting. There are mild physical tics also such as sticking out the tongue (21), shoulder shrugging, eye blinking, and head twitching (20). Tourette syndrome is most often inherited genetically. Tourette’s is a result of a genetic mutation in the brain’s basal ganglia or from a gene mutation in the cerebral cortex of the brain. Scientists also believe this disease can be a result of environmental factors (12). People can get Tourette syndrome from a brain injury or bacterial infections (38).

Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder categorized by repetitive involuntary vocalizations and movements (tics). The symptoms of TS typically manifest themselves in early childhood, worsen significantly in the early teens, and then improve into the late teens and adulthood. The CDC estimates as many as 1 in 162 children may suffer from TS, with a significant portion carrying their tics into adulthood (around 10-15%). It is estimated around 200,000 Americans have the most severe form of

Book review of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks is a book based around neurological disorders, their causes, their treatments and their sufferers. Sacks demonstrates, through a series of anecdotes that we can only really learn about the brain when something is wrong or abnormal with it. In the sections Excesses and Transports Sacks outlines disorders ranging from Tourette’s syndrome, which can be deemed an extroverted disorder with obvious, visible symptoms, to very introverted disorders such as temporal-lobe seizures causing patients vivid hallucinations and flashbacks to childhood. He outlines how these disorders make their sufferers feel and how treatment can affect it in both a good and a bad way.

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is an inherited tic disorder that usually appears in early childhood and is classified by multiple motor tics and verbal tics. (Mayo 2012) Tics are sudden and repetitive movements, with motor tics being physical muscle movements, and verbal tics being sudden vocalization. Common tics range anywhere from constant eye blinking to throat clearing and grunting. Although the word “involuntary” is usually used to describe tics, this is not completely true, a better word would be “compelling.” It wouldn’t be true to say that people with Tourette’s can’t control their tics, some people can hold the tics back for hours at a time, but this only leads to a bigger outburst when they are finally let go. Tics are comparable to

Many people who have Tourette’s will say that it is difficult to suppress a tic, and

Although there is no cure for Tourette’s, there are treatments to help manage the tics. Some people with Tourette’s have tic’s that do not get in the way of their daily routines and do not need any treatment. Regardless, there are medications and behavioral treatments that are available if there is any stress, pain or injury caused by the tics. There is a new behavioral treatment called Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention (CBIT). CBIT is an evidence-based type of behavioral therapy for Tourette’s and tic disorders. CBIT is effective at reducing symptoms and tic-related impairments. Treatment includes habit reversal in addition to other strategies that includes education about tics and relaxation techniques. During this therapy, a therapist

Behavior disorders vary in symptoms and name, and can be divided into several classifications, including anxiety disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, emotional disorders, dissociative disorders, and pervasive developmental disorders. In addition to Sensory Processing Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Autism fall under the behavior umbrella. Like many other mental illnesses, direct causes of these disorders are hard to pinpoint. “Although the exact cause of most mental illnesses is not known, it is becoming clear through research that many of these conditions are caused by a combination of biological, psychological and

Forrest, my younger brother, was officially diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome when he was fourteen. He was always a little bit different from the rest of our large family; he had endless energy and was constantly making strange faces. Growing up, I noticed him blinking, raising his eyebrows, or moving his jaw. It was not until he hit adolescence that his vocal and motor tics rose to the surface and became increasingly noticeable to his peers. He would make random high pitch yelps, or say one word repeatedly. It was at that time he started to lose friends, was picked on, and laughed at behind his back. Eventually, Forrest realized for himself that he was different, and it began to affect his happy demeanor and diminish his confidence.

Early symptoms of Tourette syndrome occur in children at around 3 and 9 years and occur in equal percentages in all ethnic groups. However, TS occurs more often in males than females with over 200,000 Americans having severe TS. The reason for this is because the syndrome is a dominant trait genetically passed down on the X chromosome. Since males have only one X chromosome, they are more likely to have it than females, specifically three times more likely. Even though TS is chronic, most people who are diagnosed early can live a more improved lifestyle for the rest of their lives.

A tic is a repetitive, uncontrollable, purposeless contraction of an individual muscle or group of muscles, usually in the face, arms, or shoulders. These movements may be signs of a minor psychological disturbance. Such tics often occur in childhood and will probably be outgrown. There are also tics that are caused by neurological disorders that could have resulted from brain damage at birth, head trauma, or use of some specific medication (1). Tic disorders may be