Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Generating Acute and Chronic Experimental Models of Motor Tic Expression in Rats
Published on: May 27, 2021
Premonitory urge to tic in Tourette's is associated with interoceptive awareness
Christos Ganos1,2, Alicia Garrido1,3, Irene Navalpotro-Gómez1,4
1Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Background:
A contribution of aberrant interoceptive awareness to the perception of premonitory urges in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) has been hypothesized.
Methods:
We assessed interoceptive awareness in 19 adults with GTS and 25 age-matched healthy controls using the heartbeat counting task. We also used multiple regression to explore whether the severity of premonitory urges was predicted by interoceptive awareness or severity of tics and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Results:
We observed lower interoceptive awareness in GTS compared with controls. Interoceptive awareness was the strongest predictor of premonitory urges in GTS, with greater interoceptive awareness being associated with more urges. Greater tic severity was also associated with higher rates of premonitory urges.
Conclusion:
The observed relationship between severity of premonitory urges and interoceptive awareness suggests that interoception might be involved in self-reported premonitory urges in GTS. High levels of interoceptive awareness might reflect a self-attentive capacity to perceive urges.
Related Concept Videos
The Micturition Reflex
The process begins with bladder filling, where the bladder wall stretches as urine accumulates. This stretching activates the urine storage reflex, mediated by the sacral spinal segments and the pontine storage center. Efferent sympathetic impulses stimulate the detrusor muscle to relax and the internal urethral sphincter to contract, facilitating...
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon
Irritable Bowel Syndrome I: Introduction
IBS is a chronic condition that can persist over a long period or recur frequently.
The pathogenesis of IBS involves a complex interplay of the following factors:
Altered...
Panic Disorder
Anxiety: Overview
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.

