Tic Suppression in Children With Recent-Onset Tics Predicts 1-Year Tic Outcome
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Updated: Jan 23, 2026
Generating Acute and Chronic Experimental Models of Motor Tic Expression in Rats
Published on: May 27, 2021
Soyoung Kim1, Deanna J Greene1,2, Amy Robichaux-Viehoever3
11 Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Insights
Children with recent-onset tic disorders can suppress tics, especially with rewards. This ability to suppress tics early on predicts future tic severity, offering insights into tic disorder progression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Child Psychology
- Behavioral Therapy
Background:
- Voluntary tic suppression is crucial for behavioral interventions in tic disorders.
- Understanding early tic suppression capacity is vital for predicting tic disorder outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate tic suppression abilities in children with recent-onset tics.
- To determine if early tic suppression capacity predicts future tic severity.
Main Methods:
- Assessed 45 children (mean age 7.74 years) with recent-onset tics (mean 3.47 months).
- Evaluated tic suppression under conditions: free ticcing, verbal inhibition request, and reward-based inhibition.
- Follow-up assessment at 12 months post-first recognized tic.
Main Results:
- Children with recent-onset tics demonstrated successful tic suppression.
- Tic suppression was most effective when an immediate, contingent reward was provided.
- The ability to suppress tics in a reward condition at baseline predicted tic severity at 12-month follow-up.
Conclusions:
- Inhibitory control over tics within months of onset is a significant predictor of long-term tic severity.
- Reward-based strategies may enhance early tic suppression in children.
- Findings support the role of inhibitory control in the developmental trajectory of tic disorders.
Abstract:
Successful voluntary tic suppression is a key component of the behavioral interventions that are used to treat tic disorders. This study aimed to examine tic suppression in children with recent-onset tics and determine whether the capacity to suppress tics predicts future tic severity. We tested 45 children (30 male, mean age 7.74 years) with recent-onset tics (mean 3.47 months prior to the first study visit; baseline) and re-examined each child at the 12-month anniversary of the first recognized tic (follow-up). At the baseline visit, children performed a tic suppression task with several conditions: tic freely, inhibit tics given a verbal request, and inhibit tics in the presence of a reward. At the baseline visit, children with tics for only a few months could suppress their tics, and tic suppression was especially successful when they received an immediate and contingent reward. Additionally, the ability to suppress tics in the presence of a reward predicted tic severity at follow-up. These findings suggest that better inhibitory control of tics within months of tic onset may be an important predictor of future tic symptom outcome.
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