Related Experiment Videos
"Just right" perceptions associated with compulsive behavior in Tourette's syndrome
J F Leckman1, D E Walker, W K Goodman
1Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-7900.
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|May 1, 1994
Summary
Many individuals with Tourette's syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder experience "just right" sensations before performing compulsions. These sensory perceptions, often visual or tactile, are common in tic disorder patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a chronic childhood-onset disorder characterized by motor and phonic tics.
- Associated behaviors, including obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCD), are common in TS.
- Sensory and perceptual phenomena linked to compulsive behaviors are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of "just right" phenomena in individuals with tic disorders.
- To explore the relationship between "just right" perceptions and compulsive behaviors in this population.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 134 subjects with tic disorders (aged 9-71).
- Participants completed questionnaires on tic symptoms and "just right" perceptions.
- The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale assessed current obsessive-compulsive symptom severity.
Main Results:
- 81% of subjects with TS and OCD and 56% with TS and OCD symptoms reported "just right" needs for compulsions.
- These perceptions most frequently related to visual or tactile aspects of the compulsive act.
- Most subjects (75%) experienced these perceptions immediately before or during compulsions.
Conclusions:
- "Just right" perceptions appear common in adolescents and adults with co-occurring OCD and tic disorders.
- These findings suggest the involvement of sensorimotor processing brain regions in the pathophysiology of tic disorders.
- Future epidemiological studies should include assessments of "just right" phenomena.