Simple motor tics

Simple motor tics use only one muscle group and often look like (exaggerated) natural movements.

Examples include:

• Eye blinking.

• Shoulder shrugging.

• Head twitching or jerking.

• Extension of arms or legs.

• Grimacing.

Complex motor tics

Complex motor tics use multiple muscle groups and appear more like coördinated and "intentional" movements.

Examples include:

• Combinations of several simple motor tics.

• Kicking.

• Skipping or jumping.

• Touching or smelling objects.

• Mimicking others' actions, immediately or unprompted (echopraxia).

• Performing actions after reading them (lexilalia).

• Repeating your own actions (palipraxia).

• Obscene or taboo gestures (copropraxia).

Classification of motor tics

Clonic tics

Clonic tics involve sudden, jerky movements.

Examples include:

• Head jerks.

• Arm jerks.

• Kicking.

Tonic tics

Tonic tics involve tension or tightening of muscles without movement (isometric).

Examples include:

• • • • Tightening of chest, abdomen, or limb muscles.

      • Blocking tics (ie. tightening that interrupts or prevents movement, potentially including breathing).

Simple phonic tics

Simple phonic tics are brief, apparently meaningless vocalizations and often sounds like (exaggerated) natural vocalizations.

Examples include:

• Coughing.

• Throat clearing.

• Grunting.

• Sniffing.

• Barking or hissing.

Echopraxia

Echopraxia is the imitation of the movements of others.

• Imitation may be immediate or delayed.

• Imitation may be exact (unmitigated) or altered (mitigated).

• May include imitation of environmental or non-human entities, such as cartoons or wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men.

• Very rare, to the point that there hasn't been enough to study it's percentage (Coffman & Quezada, 2021).

Echolalia

Echolalia is the imitation of the sounds/vocalizations of others.

• Imitation may be immediate or delayed.

• Imitation may be exact (unmitigated) or altered (mitigated).

• May include imitation of environmental or non-human entities, such as animals or machines.

Rare expressions include:

Echographia.

• Echographia is the imitation or tracing of the writing or typing of others.

Echopalasia.

• Echoplasia is the imitation of the sign language of others.

Echomimia.

• Echomimia is the imitation of the facial expressions of others.

Lexiphenomena

Lexi referring to reading.

Lexipraxia

Lexipraxia is imitation of actions read in text.

• Repetition may be immediate or delayed.

• Repetition may be exact (unmitigated) or altered (mitigated).

Lexilalia

Lexilalia is the repetition of words or sounds read in text.

• Repetition may be immediate or delayed.

• Repetition may be exact (unmitigated) or altered (mitigated).

Rare expressions include:

Lexigraphia.

• Lexigraphia is the production of text repeating words read in text.

Lexiplasia.

• Lexiplasia is the production of sign language repeating words read in text.

Leximimia.

• Leximimia is the production of facial expressions mimicking words read in text.

Paliphenomena

Pali referring to repetition.

Palipraxia

Palipraxia is the repetition of one's own movements.

• Repetition may be immediate or delayed.

• Repetition may be exact (unmitigated) or altered (mitigated).

Palilalia

Palilalia is the repetition of one's own vocalizations.

• Repetition may be immediate or delayed.

• Repetition may be exact (unmitigated) or altered (mitigated).

Rare expressions inlcude:

Paligraphia.

• Paligraphia is the repetition or tracing of one's own writing or typing.

  • Also referred to as written jocularity.

Paliplasia.

• Paliplasia is the repetition of one's own sign language.

Palimimia.

• Palimimia is the repetition of one's own facial expressions.

Coprophenomena

Copro referring to obscenity.

Copropraxia

Copropraxia is the production of obscene, taboo, derogatory, or socially/situationally inappropriate actions.

Coprolalia

Coprolalia is the production of obscene, taboo, derogatory, or socially/situationally inappropriate vocalizations.

• Coprolalia develops in 10-15% of patients with Tourette syndrome (World Health Organization, 2022).

• Coprolalia typically begins in mid-adolescence (World Health Organization, 2022).

Rare expressions include:

Coprographia.

• Production or tracing of obscene, taboo, derogatory, or socially/situationally inappropriate text or drawings.

Coproplasia.

• Production of obscene, taboo, derogatory, or socially/situationally inappropriate sign language.

Copromimia.

• Production or tracing of obscene, taboo, derogatory, or socially/situationally inappropriate text or drawings.

CTPh are not considered tics.

The current definition of tics defines them as movements or behaviors, and does not include thoughts (Janik et al., 2021).

• • Despite this they are a relatively common experience (15%) amongst individuals with tic disorders (Janik et al., 2021).