User:Silvia Mahapatra/sandbox
Echopraxia, a tic disorder is the involuntary repetition of another person’s movements.[1] Imitation and emulation of physical and verbal actions are critical to early development. However, when these behaviors become reactions rather than a means for learning, they are considered echophenomena. Echopraxia has been observed in patients with frontal lobe damage, but the exact cause is currently unknown. Patients with Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome, Schizophrenia, and autism exhibit echopraxia; however, the reason for the link between echopraxia and these disorders is undetermined. Echopraxia is closely related to echolalia, the involuntary repetition of another person’s words or word phrases.[2] Although no medical treatments are available, psychological counseling may help patients who exhibit echophenomena in some cases. The effects of therapy vary depending on the initial cause of echopraxia.
Etymology
Echopraxia, termed in 1904, is derived from Ancient Greek: "ekho" + "praxis", meaning action.[3]
History
Echopraxia was observed in the first case of Tourette's Syndrome. Jean Marc Gaspard Itard described the original case of Marquise de Dampierre in 1825.[4]
Signs and Symptoms
Echopraxia is typically classified by the uncontrollable mirroring of an observed action. Imitated actions are not limited to a specific type. Imitation can be divided into two types: imitative learning and automatic imitation. Imitative learning occurs when a person consciously mimics an observed action in order to learn the mechanism behind that action and perform it himself or herself. According to Jean Piaget, this is essential to the sensorimotor stage.[5] Imitative learning continues to develop as a person ages, and is important as new skills are available to learn. For example, a person may learn to hit a nail with a hammer by watching his or her parent hammering nails. Automatic imitation on the other hand, occurs without a person's consent.[4] Babies begin copying movements soon after birth. It is not possible to diagnose echopraxia at this age, because it is difficult to differentiate between imitative learning and automatic imitation. This normally begins diminishing around the age of 3 years old. If the imitative behavior continues to be present, it is considered echpraxia. Automatic behavior is occasionally present in healthy adults. For instance, when a person observes someone yawning, he or she immediately does the same. These behaviors are not considered echopraxia.
Causes and Pathophysiology
The cause of echopraxia is currently thought to be frontal lobe damage affecting the mirror neuron system, a group of neurons in the F5 region of the brain.[6] These neurons fire action potentials when an action is observed, as well as when the action is being performed. They are primarily located in the inferior frontal gyrus and the inferior lobule of the parietal lobe.[6]
Diagnosis
Test reaction times
- Videos comparing echopraxia/control patients.
- Responses to biological stimuli were faster in echopraxia patients than controls.
Treatment
Medical Treatments
- None currently available.
Therapeutic Treatment
- Only in some unique cases.
- Cannot rely on this method.
- Can help if something (family, school, etc. problems) plays a role in echopraxia development.
- Has been seen with other tic disorders as well.
Stress-induced Tic Suppression
- Instances where severe stress "scares tic away".
- Ex. From An Anthropologist on Mars. Surgeon and amateur pilot had severe tics, but disappeared in the operating room or plane.
- Ex. Woman afraid to fly and tics went away in plane.
- Tics re-emerge in normal situations, so not effective means of dealing with tics.
Echopraxia in Neurological Disorders
- Not sure why echopraxia is linked to these disorders.
Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome
Patients affected with Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome experience increased sensitivity to external stimuli. This can set off tics, including echophenomena.[1]
Schizophrenia
Autism
References
- ^ a b Pridmore, S., Brüne, M., Ahmadi, J., Dale, J. (2008). "Echopraxia in schizophrenia: possible mechanisms". The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists: 565–71. PMID 18612859.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Cite error: The named reference "pmid18612859" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ Cho, Y., Han, S., Song, S., Lee, B., Heo, K. (2009). "Palilalia, echolalia, and echopraxia-palipraxia as ictal manifestations in a patient with left frontal lobe epilepsy". Epilepsia: 1616–19. PMID 19175395.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary".
- ^ a b Ganos, C., Ogrzal, T., Schnitzler, A., Münchau, A. (2012). "The Pathophysiology of Echopraxia/Echolalia: Relevance to Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome". Movement Disorders. PMID 22807284.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Cook, R., Press, C., Dickinson, A., Heyes, C. (2010). "Acquisition of automatic imitation is sensitive to sensorimotor contingency". Journal of Experimental Psychology: 840–52. PMID 20695703.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Aziz-Zadeh, L., Koski, L., Mazziotta, J., Iacoboni, M. (2006). "Lateralization of the human mirror neuron system". The Journal of Neuroscience: 2964–70. PMID 16540574.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)