title: Bereitschaftspotential in tic disorders: a preliminary observation.
abstract: Sensory phenomena in tic disorders such as Tourette's syndrome are known but are substantiated by only a handful of studies. In this preliminary report, we studied premonitory urge, a type of sensory phenomenon in three patients of tic disorders. Bereitschaftspotential, a movement-related cognitive potential indicative of motor preparation, was assessed in these patients. As bereitschaftspotential was observed in all our cases prior to occurrence of tics, it is speculated that tics are not entirely involuntary but are quasi-volitional in nature. Bereitschaftspotential may thus represent a neurophysiological marker of premonitory urge in tic disorders. Implications of exploring the voluntary nature of tics are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi - 834006, India.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Duggal
authors.forename: S Haque
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Nizamie
mesh_terms: D003193:Compulsive Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications; D013981:Tic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology