Tic disorders

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article Volume 17 - 2026 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1784601 Reviewed by ORIGINAL RESEARCH article KK Kinga K. Tomczak 1 DL Donald L. Gilbert 3,4 FE Frederick E. Munschauer 5 CA Charlotte A. Pettersson 2 DA David A. Isaacs 7 1. Tic Disorders and Tourette Syndrome Program, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States 2. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, United States 3.

1 INTRODUCTION Functional tics, also known as functional tic-like behaviors (FTLBs), are a subcategory of functional neurological disorders (FNDs, also called conversion disorders in the DSM-5-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2022)) and were previously considered relatively rare (Baizabal-Carvallo & Jankovic, 2014; Demartini et al., 2015; Pringsheim et al., 2023). FNDs are believed to arise from altered brain networks rather than abnormality in brain structures.

Movements of the limbs and other body parts are known as motor tics. Involuntary repetitive sounds, such as grunting, sniffing, or throat clearing, are called vocal tics. Tic disorders usually start in childhood, first presenting at approximately 5 years of age. In general, they are more common among males compared with females. Many cases of tics are temporary and resolve within a year. However, some people who experience tics develop a chronic disorder. Chronic tics affects about 1 out of 100.