Kevin J. Black edited Phenomenology.md  almost 8 years ago

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Since tic suppression is part of the treatment protocol for the Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) and for Exposure and Response Prevention, there has been increased interest in investigating the characteristics of tic suppression and the factors that affect it. A study of 26 TS adolescents compared free ticcing with a tic suppression condition \citep{25786675}. During the free ticcing condition, tic distribution across body locations was consistent with the view that most tics occur at the level of the shoulders and above: eye tics were the most frequent, followed by facial/cervical tics, and those involving the arms and legs. Tics involving the trunk were the least common. During the tic suppression condition, eye tics increased in 10 subjects, as did hand tics in 3 subjects. Tic suppression was most successful for tics in body locations generally associated with fewer tics, such as the legs and trunk. The authors suggest that tic suppression involves specific, rather than global, inhibition since some types of tics are easier to suppress than others. Historically, other categories have been used to classify tics, such as simple vs. complex tics and motor vs. phonic tics. The results of this study suggest that future research may benefit from including body location in tic analyses.   By definition, children with Tourette syndrome (TS) have had tics for over a year. They can often suppress their tics briefly and they do so more effectively when rewarded for successful suppression. It has not been known whether the ability to suppress tics develops only with practice over the years of having tics or whether the ability to suppress tics is present when tics initially occur. Greene and colleagues addressed this question in children whose tics had developed within the past few months \citet{Greene_2015_NTsuppress}. \citep{Greene_2015_NTsuppress}.  When children received tokens with monetary value for tic-free intervals, they had significantly more of these intervals compared to a baseline, unrewarded condition. This result suggests the possibility that behavior therapy for tics may work, at least for some children, even before TS can be diagnosed. Most tic patients frequently try to suppress tics, but find suppressing them uncomfortable and distracting. However, those who are more satisfied with their ability to suppress their tics also report a higher quality of life \cite{26360257}. \citep{26360257}.  ### Sensory phenomena  

A study of 400 patients seen at a TS specialty clinic found that 39% had coprolalia and 20% had copropraxia \citep{26089672}. When the 222 patients with full comorbidity data were examined, only 13.5% had "pure" TS (_i.e._, without comorbidities). None of the "pure" TS group had coprolalia and none had a family history of obsessive-compulsive disorder.   Emotional regulation difficulties were described in three studies, reminding us that for many TS patients, tics are not their most problematic symptoms. Greater irritability was seen in TS adults with more severe tics and those with comorbid ADHD \citep{25716486}. Eddy et al. found that both male and female TS subjects, compared to controls, reported more distress during emotionally intense situations and rated their abilities to take other people's perspectives lower \citet{26144583}. \citep{26144583}.  An experienced clinician who has done research on "rage attacks" in TS has provided a clinically useful summary of current knowledge regarding aggressive symptoms in TS, OCD, ADHD and mood disorders, and described treatment options \citep{Budman_2015}. Given that emotional regulation difficulties are frequently associated with greater tic severity, improving emotional modulation skills may be an appropriate target of psychological interventions. More research is also being conducted on personality differences associated with TS. A small study of 17 male adolescents \citep{26078419} found that the only significant difference between the TS subjects and 51 age- and gender-matched controls on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent version was that the TS subjects scored higher on the Obsessiveness Content Scale. In contrast, a study of 50 TS adults in Germany used a variety of instruments to measure psychological symptoms and personality traits \citep{26112450}. Comorbidities were common (41% OCD, 28% depression, 26% ADHD). Patients with OCD had more severe tics and there was a trend for those with ADHD to have more severe tics. Only 29% of the patients had no pathological personality traits, measured with the Inventory of Clinical Personality Accentuations. The demand-anxious trait was the most common personality trait seen in patients and was present in 39%, while histrionic personality traits were not found in any patients. Personality traits in patients with "pure" TS (_i.e._, without comorbid ADHD, OCD or depression) were comparable to those of the control group. Interestingly, ADHD did not contribute to increased probability of pathological personality traits. Although quality of life was affected by both personality traits and comorbidities, personality traits had a larger impact on quality of life.