# Tourettes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 1999, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourettes/5264 "1999-12-10T15:13:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 1999, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourettes/5264/1 "1999-12-10T15:13:00Z")
## I live in a small town and we have a person here who has tourette’s syndrome. I know that the person has an uncontrollable verbel tic. But it seems that all of his uncontrolled outbursts are in the profanity or racial slur department. Anyone know why the outbursts have to be in those catagories? Why not burst out with oh my God! or lookout!!! instead of sonfabitchshitbastard!!! Just wondering… Of course that’s just my opinion I could be wrong. Dennis Miller ---
**Author:** ![Flypsyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Flypsyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flypsyde)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 1999, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourettes/5264/2 "1999-12-10T15:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > [http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003148.html](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003148.html) Glad to see you’re out of the crapper. * * * Nothing like a bad decision Says who you are. -Gin Blossoms, _“Perfectly Still”_ ---
**Author:** ![Flypsyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Flypsyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flypsyde)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 1999, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourettes/5264/3 "1999-12-10T15:25:00Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003148.html](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003148.html) Glad to see you’re out of the crapper. * * * Nothing like a bad decision Says who you are. -Gin Blossoms, _“Perfectly Still”_ ---
**Author:** ![Flypsyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Flypsyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flypsyde)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 1999, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourettes/5264/4 "1999-12-10T15:26:00Z")
Since you’ve now made room for my brains. …quoting a link? Jesus, where’s my head… * * * Nothing like a bad decision Says who you are. -Gin Blossoms, _“Perfectly Still”_ ---
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 1999, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourettes/5264/5 "1999-12-10T16:14:00Z")
flypsyde said… Glad to see you’re out of the crapper… Thanks flyp but my S…in england I’ve s…in france thread is still going strong in mpsims! * * * Of course that’s just my opinion I could be wrong. Dennis Miller ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 1999, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourettes/5264/6 "1999-12-10T16:17:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Anyone know why the outbursts have to be in those catagories? Quite simply put, they don’t. And more importantly, most often they aren’t. Coprolalia, or swearing, is probably the _least_ common tic or symptom associated with Tourettes. Sufferers exhibit all sorts of other verbal and non-verbal outbursts, from excessive eye-blinking (usually the first symptom) to scratching, neck stretching, coughing and even stuttering (I have a friend whose son’s stuttering was actually his first symptom of Tourettes, but wasn’t associated with it until other tics started and the disorder was properly diagnosed). But to answer your question as to why those who _do_ have coprolalia use swear words instead of other words, here is one sufferer’s explanation… > [@](#): > > The truth is that swearing is not a universal symptom of TS. Coprolalia occurs in about 8 to 30 percent of cases, and even then it often seems to last only for a phase in life. > > Coprolalia can be one of the most distressing yet fascinating aspects of TS. Many of those who exhibit coprolalia live in environments where swearing is not allowed or condoned. Many don’t condone swearing themselves. Coprolalia can also cause social problems, causing the false impression that one is swearing at other people. > > It is also for this reason that Touretters have often been falsely thought to be somehow morally deficient, and that TS was considered a psychological disorder. > > The question remains: how can a biological condition often surface as a proneness to utter certain obscene words? I can propose two explanations: > > 1. Whether you consider swearing reprehensible, or swear yourself, swearwords often carry a strong emotional value - that is their purpose, after all. Although the specific forms of the swearwords are determined culturally and not biologically, it is possible that, as one grows up and learns their meaning, they are “stored” in association with certain specific emotional systems in the brain. > > 2. There are favourite swearwords and less favourite swearwords. It seems as if the more common swearwords have certain sound qualities that give them a sharp “edge,” such as plosive consonants and alliteration, etc. These same aspects make them ideal for ticcing. In fact, other vocal tics also often seem to carry a certain rhythmical quality. For some additional information on Tourettes, I suggest you check out [http://neuro-www2.mgh.harvard.edu/TSA/AboutTS/myths.html](http://neuro-www2.mgh.harvard.edu/TSA/AboutTS/myths.html) [http://www.ninds.nih.gov/patients/Disorder/tourette/tourette.htm](http://www.ninds.nih.gov/patients/Disorder/tourette/tourette.htm) Or the site I took the above quote from [http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~infinit/tsfaq1.1.html](http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~infinit/tsfaq1.1.html) ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 1999, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourettes/5264/7 "1999-12-11T05:03:00Z")
I went to school (college) with the head of the NY chapter of the Tourettes Society (I don’t remember the exact name). He had his as under control as he could, but at finals time when he was stressed he started with the major cursing thing. Also, a friend of mine looked like his ex-wife, and he called her a “fucking cunt” each and every time he saw her. He absolutely could not help it- it just stressed him so. What an awful disease, be it verbal or physical tics. Zette * * * Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get to high. Not enough and you’re gonna die… [Click here for some GOOD news for a change](http://www.binghamtonpress.com/binghamtonnews/local/Sanews5.html)[Zettecity](http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/zettecity/index.html)