Tic

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A tic is a repetitive, stereotyped, nonrhythmic, involuntary movement (motor tic) or sound (phonic tic).


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Classification of tics and tic disorders

Tics are classified as motor vs. phonic, and simple vs. complex.

Motor tics are movement-based tics affecting discrete muscle groups.

Phonic tics are involuntary sounds produced by moving air through the nose, mouth, or throat. They may be alternately referred to as verbal tics, vocal tics, or phonic tics, but some diagnosticians prefer the term phonic tics, to reflect the notion that the vocal cords are not involved in all tics that produce sound. (Robertson, 2000)

Simple motor tics are typically sudden, brief, meaningless movements, such as eye blinking or shoulder shrugging. Motor tics can be of an endless variety and may include such movements as hand-clapping, neck stretching, mouth movements, head, arm or leg jerks, and facial grimacing.

Complex motor tics are typically more purposeful-appearing and of a longer nature. Examples of complex motor tics are pulling at clothes, touching people, touching objects, echopraxia and copropraxia.

A simple phonic tic can be almost any possible sound or noise, with common vocal tics being throat clearing, coughing, sniffing, or grunting.

Complex phonic tics may fall into various categories, including echolalia (repeating words just spoken by someone else), palilalia (repeating one's own previously spoken words), lexilalia (repeating words after reading them) and, most controversially, coprolalia (the spontaneous utterance of socially-objectionable or taboo words or phrases). Coprolalia is a highly-publicized symptom of Tourette syndrome; however, according to the Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc. (TSA), fewer than 15% of TS patients exhibit coprolalia. (TSA and Zinner 2000)

Complex tics are rarely seen in the absence of simple tics.

Tics must be distinguished from fasciculations. Small twitches of the upper or lower eyelid, for example, are not tics because they don't involve a whole muscle. They are twitches of a few muscle fibre bundles, which you can feel but barely see. (Freeman)

Tics can be invisible to the observer (e.g.; abdominal tensing or toe crunching). Movements of other movement disorders (e.g.; chorea, dystonia, myoclonus) must be distinguished from tics. Other conditions (e.g.; autism, Stereotypic movement disorder) also include movements which may be confused with tics. Tics must also be distinguished from compulsions of OCD and seizure activity.

Some forms of stuttering are caused by muscular tics in the throat, tongue, or vocal cords when speaking or preparing to speak.

Tic disorders occur along a spectrum, ranging from mild to more severe, and are classified according to duration and severity (transient tics, chronic tics, or Tourette syndrome). Tourette syndrome is the more severe expression of a spectrum of tic disorders, which are thought to be due to the same genetic vulnerability. Nevertheless, most cases of Tourette syndrome are not severe. (Zinner 2000)

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Controversy and confusion

There is some confusion in film and literature about tics. In comedies, a person with muscle tics may haplessly raise their hand at an obviously inappropriate time and suffer the consequences. This is very implausible: tics are semi-voluntary actions taken by the sufferer to alleviate the feeling of an unwanted, premonitory urge. The arm would not be thrust into the air as if the sufferer were possessed.

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Other uses

TIC can also refer to a home-based computer security system; a motion sensitive camera or inappropriately named files to attract attention or catch an intruder. These are passive security defences - they do not catch the intruder, but instead catch him or her out.

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References

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