Back to list of Related Disorders.
Go to the next Related Disorder.What Tourette's is and how it relates to OCD.
- This falls under the category of Tic- Disorder and like other motor and vocal tic disorders resembles OCD.
Tics can be involuntary motor behaviors ( Facial grimacing, twitching, yawning and head jerks.) or involuntary vocal behaviors ( Snorting, high sounds, grunts and words.....) that will often be triggered by feelings of discomfort.
The more complex tics, like touching or tapping tics, may closely resemble compulsions. - About 1/3 of people with TS have Coprolalia, which involves the uttering of obscenities.
- When either OCD or Tics begin during childhood they will/are more likely to occur together later on in life.
- In OCD- clinics, about 1/3 of patients have Tics or Tourette. While there is inconclusive evidence of there being an OCD- subtype that is linked to Tourette, some investigators have found that the "Just Right" or "Just So" feeling of OCD is more prevalent in TS/OCD or TS then OCD- only patients.
The Difference.
- A difference between both conditions is that the neurotransmitter implicated in the tics of Tourette is Dopamine and in OCD this is Serotonin. This is why patients that have both TS and OCD will most likely be prescribed 2 different medications by their doctor since there is none available that will tackle both neurotransmitter systems in the desired directions.
| Useful links concerning Tourette's.: |
- Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc.
- Tourette Syndrome - Now What?.
- Tourette Syndrome "Plus". "Many childhood-onset neurobehavioral conditions are often undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or misunderstood. On this site, you will find information on Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, "Rage Attacks," Mood Disorders, and other conditions that can lead to behavioral, academic, and job-related difficulties."
- Tourette Spectrum Disorder Association, Inc.
