Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Vijay A. Mittal, University of Colorado Boulder; Elaine Walker, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2011-08-30
• Publisher: Elsevier: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2011.06.006
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Psychiatry Research
• ISSN: 0165-1781
• Volume: 189
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 158
• End Page: 159
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant MH087258 and institutional funding from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
• Keywords: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Mental Disorders; Humans
• Research Categories: Psychology, Clinical

Abstract

Rapid, non-rhythmic, abnormal movements can appear in psychosis spectrum disorders, as well as in a host of commonly co-occurring conditions, including Tourette’s Syndrome and Transient Tic Disorder. Confusion can arise when it becomes necessary to determine whether an observed movement (e.g., a sudden head jerk) represents a spontaneous dyskinesia (i.e., spontaneous transient chorea, athetosis, dystonia, ballismus involving muscle groups of the arms, legs, trunk, face, and/or neck) or a tic (i.e., stereotypic or patterned movements defined by the relationship to voluntary movement, acute and chronic time course, and sensory urges). Indeed, dyskinetic movements such as dystonia (i.e., sustained muscle contractions, usually producing twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures or positions) closely resemble tics in a patterned appearance, and may only be visually discernable by attending to timing differences.