Sensory Symptoms in Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1% of school-aged children, with one-third of patients suffering persistent tics into adulthood. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common comorbidity with TS. Individuals with either TS or OCD frequently exhibit sensory dysregulation, manifesting as heightened awareness of internal and external stimuli. For patients with OCD, sensory dysregulation has been linked to obsessive-compulsive symptoms and is an important consideration in treatment strategies. Sensory dysregulation remains largely unexplored in TS, but preliminary data suggests it is dissociable from tics, linked with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and associated with poorer quality of life (QOL). This study seeks to address two key questions related to sensory dysregulation in TS and OCD: 1) Is sensory dysregulation in OCD clinically distinct from that in TS? 2) To what extent does sensory dysregulation affect QOL in each of these disorders? To do so, we will recruit patients with TS, patients with OCD, and healthy controls to complete an online battery of validated questionnaires assessing sensory dysregulation, psychiatric symptoms, and QOL. Addressing these knowledge gaps will enhance our understanding of bothersome sensory symptoms in TS and OCD, shed light on clinical overlap and/or distinctions between these commonly co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses, and clarify QOL impact and the potential need for more direct targeting of these symptoms.