Nervous tics: types, symptoms, causes and treatments

Throughout our lives, all of us have experienced situations in which, due to our level of stress or nervousness, a series of mild but usually quite annoying nervous tics.

Although this is usually temporary and does not have to be linked to any medical condition, nervous tics can become chronic; triggering symptoms of anguish and anxiety that tend to make them worse.

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What is a nervous tic?

By tics we mean all those involuntary body movements that appear as a result of a nervous contraction. These movements can appear in a multitude of muscle groups that, on other occasions, the person does move at will.

As a general rule, the person can control these tics more or less, not without great effort on their part. However, it is most likely that these appear repeatedly and in a more serious or intense way.

Also, both the intensity and the frequency of nervous tics will be much greater in in highly stressful situations.

Some of the involuntary movements traditionally associated with nervous tics are:

• facial grimaces.
• Increased blink rate.
• Flaring of the nostrils.
• Lateral movements of the head.
• Stretch one arm repeatedly.
• raise eyebrows.
• Lip biting.
• Continuous coughing or clearing of the throat.
• Continuous repetition of a word.

Usually, these nervous tics occur for the first time in childhood, especially around the age of five, and are also more frequent in men than in women. In most cases, tics last for a limited time, fading and disappearing over a year or so. Nevertheless in some cases they can become a chronic disorder, especially when these are associated with some type of disorder or physical alteration.

All those people who suffer from some type of nervous tic usually report a high degree of anguish and irritation in relation to them, due to both that you tend to draw attention to those around you as it is not pleasant to experience sudden movements at the most inopportune This anguish can lead to feelings of anxiety and stress which can make the situation even worse, since the more anxiety there is, the more likely it is that nervous tics will appear.

• Related article: "The 7 types of anxiety (causes and symptoms)"

What types of tics are there?

There is a small classification for nervous tics, which can be differentiated between phonic or vocal tics and motor tics. Furthermore, each of these groups can be subclassified into simple or complex tics. Therefore, the grouping would be as follows.

1. Simple and complex motor tics

Nervous tics of the simple motor category are those that occur more frequently in the general population. They use only a limited number of muscles; such as: movements of the eyelids and eyebrows, hands or arms.

On the other hand, complex motor movements use and combine different groups of muscles, giving rise to jumps, blows, pirouettes or ecopraxias, in which the affected person performs involuntary imitations of the movements of another person.

2. Simple and complex phonic tics

As its name suggests, nervous tics, both simple and complex, refer to the involuntary and uncontrollable emission of sounds. In the simple ones, the person can carry out behaviors such as snorting, throat clearing or nasal shrilling, while the complex ones consist of the automatic and uncontrolled repetition of words.

What happens with Tourette Syndrome?

Tourette syndrome is considered to be the complex neurological disorder in which phonic tics and motor tics are combined. For these tics to be considered symptomatic of Tourette Syndrome, they must have been present for more than one year, without a latency period of more than two months.

In addition, this condition often appears in combination with other symptoms such as obsessive-compulsive behaviors and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The genetic cause of this syndrome has been determined, establishing the hypothesis that it is transmitted in an autosomal dominant manner. However, there are other genetic conditions that may be involved; such as genetic amplification, which refers to the gradual deterioration of the disease through generations.

This syndrome usually begins with symptoms of nervousness and restlessness that can be confused with ADHD to then appear motor symptoms such as facial and small nervous tics shakes. Finally, phonic tics appear, which usually confirm the diagnosis of Tourette's Syndrome.

• Related article: "Tourette syndrome: what is it and how does it manifest itself?"

Causes and risk factors of nervous tics

Except in the case of Tourette's Syndrome, whose causes have been established as genetic, for the time being it has been impossible to determine the exact causes of nervous tics not associated with another condition. Like Huntington's Korea, which also has tics and has a genetic origin.

However, numerous lines of research point to the possibility that brain chemistry, specifically neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin or amino acids such as glutamate, has a fundamental role in the appearance and development of these tics nervous.

On the other hand, there are some specific cases in which the cause of the tic can be determined. These are:

• Side effects of surgery.
• Brain injuries.
• Intoxication by certain poisons.
• cerebrovascular accidents.
• Brain infections.

With regard to risk factors, there are a number of situations that facilitate the appearance of nervous tics. Those are:

• Genetic factors: Families with members experiencing bouts of nervous tics.
• Sex: it has been observed that the incidence of the appearance of tics It is much higher in men than in women..

Is there a treatment?

As mentioned above, In most cases, nervous tics subside automatically. and without the need for any type of treatment. However, in those people in whom involuntary movements interfere important in their day to day, there are very effective treatments when it comes to attenuating or solving the trouble.

The most appropriate type of treatment for the patient will depend on the type of tic, as well as its severity. However, there are three categories of treatment that can be combined for greater effectiveness. These include psychological therapy, medication, or deep brain stimulation.

1. psychological therapy

Through techniques such as exposure and response prevention (ERP) or habit reversal therapy, people can identify when a tic is going to appear and prevent it or use movements incompatible with them.

2. Pharmacotherapy

Either alone or as a complement to psychological intervention, there are certain medications that are quite useful when it comes to reducing the appearance of tics. These medications are:

• Muscle relaxants.
• Botulinum toxin injections.
• Anticonvulsant drugs.
• Antidopaminergic medication.
• Drugs for associated symptoms such as antidepressants or anxiolytics.

3. deep brain stimulation

In those patients in whom the previous treatments have not been effective and the tics pose a serious problem for the patient's quality of life, brain stimulation can be used deep. Through this technique, a device is implanted in the patient's brain that through electrical stimulation manages to reduce the intensity and appearance of nervous tics.