What causes tics in children?

It is now a common problem for children to suffer from tics. When a child frequently blinks, glares, shrugs, and has involuntary twitching of parts of the body, he or she may be suffering from childhood tics. In this case, parents should take the child to the hospital for examination and treatment in time, and provide physical comfort and psychological communication to the child in life.

A large number of investigations have shown that multiple tics have a clear genetic tendency, and their inheritance pattern tends to be autosomal dominant with incomplete penetrance. There are also gender differences in penetrance, with a higher incidence in boys than in girls.

2. Imbalance of central nervous system neurotransmitters

The currently accepted view is that this disease is caused by excessive synaptic dopamine activity, which is related to dopamine receptor hypersensitivity. It has been proven that the DA-D receptor antagonist haloperidol can block DA receptors in the striatum and effectively control tics in children with Tourette syndrome. It has been widely used in clinical practice.

Other neurotransmitters include serotonin and norepinephrine that are involved in the onset of tics. γ-aminobutyric acid, excitatory amino acids such as glutamate and aspartic acid, and choline neurotransmitters are also related to the onset of tics.

3. Neurochemical changes

Studies have suggested that the levels of opioid peptides, prolactin, sex hormones, cyclophosphamide, purine metabolism, sodium-potassium ATPase, and trace elements such as calcium, zinc, and lead in the body are associated with Tourette syndrome.

4. Abnormal brain structure or function

Abnormalities in the structure and function of the cortical-striatal-thalamocortical (CSTC) circuit are associated with the occurrence of tic disorders. The study found that the volume of the caudate nucleus in the basal ganglia was significantly reduced, and the local gray matter volume of the left hippocampus was increased in children and adults with tic disorders. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies on vocal tics have found abnormal activation of the basal ganglia and hypothalamus regions in patients with tic disorders, suggesting that the occurrence of vocal tics is related to abnormal regulation of subcortical neural circuit activity.

Family, education, and social environment also play an important role in the induction or aggravation of tics. Factors such as parents' overly strict discipline of their children, children's heavy study burden, long-term anxiety, fright, bad family environment, and unhappy family life may all induce tics. Watching cartoons for a long time or being obsessed with computer games can also induce tics or aggravate symptoms.

6. Immune factors

Studies have reported that approximately 20%-35% of tics are related to post-infection autoimmune pathological damage, namely "pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disease complicated by streptococcal infection." Some studies have also reported that tics are related to viral and mycoplasma infections.

7. Perinatal factors

If a pregnant mother is nervous, frightened, or overly sad during pregnancy, various conditions during the delivery process may cause brain damage and brain hypoxia in the child, which can lead to the occurrence of tics. Various perinatal injuries are also risk factors for tics.

It has been reported that tics are directly related to cervical spine injury. When the cervical joints and ligaments are injured, the surrounding blood vessels and nerve tissues are affected, resulting in a series of symptoms such as neck discomfort. Long-term dislocation of the joints can cause functional abnormalities and mechanical changes in the spine, resulting in clinical symptoms such as shrugging and shaking the head.

9. Other factors

Such as allergic factors, food factors, drug factors and inducing factors.