ABSTRACT
Tic disorders have been the subject of intense speculation for at least the last three hundred years. Despite the overt nature of tics and thirty years of scientific scrutiny, our ignorance remains profound. While tics are common in childhood, full-blown Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome (TS) is not. Boys are more commonly affected than girls. The cardinal features of TS are motor and phonic tics that wax and wane in severity. Tics can also be mistaken for akathisia, tardive dyskinesia, or other hyperkinetic movement disorders. Motor and phonic tics occur in bouts over the course of a day and wax and wane in severity over the course of weeks to months. Many patients with tic disorders report the presence of associated sensory phenomena including “faint” premonitory urges that incessantly prompt the tics and feelings of momentary relief that follow the performance of a tic.
