Coprolalia comes from the greek "kopros," which means "dung, feces" and "lalein," which means "to babble." It's a tic-like occurrence that involves non-intentional obscene and socially inappropriate vocalizations. In 10-33% of cases, it may correlate with tic disorders, in particular with Tourette syndrome (also known as Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome). Gilles the la Tourette is believed to occur in approximately 1% of the population worldwide, in the range between 0.4% to 3.8%.[1]
Coprolalia also occurs in patients with brain lesions, "senility" and in those with neurodegenerative and autoimmune disorders. It can also appear in association with seizure disorders, in ictal or post-ictal status.
There are also other vocal tic behaviors such as palilalia (involuntary repetition of words, phrases or sentences), echolalia (repetition of another person's spoken words in a meaningless form), and klazomania (compulsive shouting) that can also be associated with coprolalia.[2]][3]
Coprolalia is the most common of the coprophenomena, which includes copropraxia (the urge to perform obscene gesture without control), mental coprolalia (obscenities thought obsessively), and coprographia (the urge to write down those expressions or obscenities).[3][4]
There is very little information about coprolalia in the absence of Tourette syndrome. Therefore, much of the information known about coprolalia is in the context of Tourette's and occasionally other tic disorders.
The functional neuroanatomical basis of coprolalia is unclear. Among the different hypotheses to explain it, is the belief that the limbic circuit could have an important role in the pathophysiology of coprolalic behaviors.[2]
Other hypotheses have been constructed to explain the pathophysiology of Tourette's that describe the development of tic (whether motor or phonatory) and coprolalia. One theory is that the brain regions that are involved in Tourette, which are the limbic system and basal ganglia, are equivalent to those of regions involved in reproductive behavior/sex control in primitive animals. Therefore tics and coprolalia could result from dysfunction in these regions and appear as primitive vocal and motor fragments.
Another hypothesis suggests that coprolalia is a part of the obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum, which results from a failure to inhibit a part of the cortico-striato-thalamocortical pathway (which composes the basal ganglia).[3]
The prevalence of coprolalia is unclear, and it ranges from very low to very high numbers in different series, but precise percentages are difficult to determine. Most studies have shown a higher male-to-female ratio.[3] The same higher male to female ratio is also present for patients with Tourette, whose pathognomonic sign is coprolalia.[5][6] In Japan, the number of reported cases in tertiary university centers ranges from 27% to 39% compared to primary care practices, whose prevalence approaches approximately 8%.[3]
In terms of tics, which coprolalia is a part of, they start to arise between the ages of 4 to 6 years old and increase in severity when closer to pre-adolescence (10 to 12 years old). The rates are also higher in Whites compared to Hispanics and African-Americans.
Patients undergo evaluation mostly by a detailed history, as noted below.
The patient evaluation is through an interview with a detailed clinical history and assessment of the types of tic disorders. The non-controllable uttering may become apparent during the interview, as well.
For the diagnosis of Tourette syndrome, they must meet DSM-5 criteria, which are[7]:
In general, the decision to treat tics or coprolalia depends on the level of impairment and how much distress it may cause to the child, and requires the cooperation of the family. After education about the condition peer-reviewed, sometimes, the decision may be to monitor it clinically, without the need for active intervention, which can be non-pharmacological or pharmacological.
Non-Pharmacologic intervention:
Behavioral therapy has demonstrated success in helping the patient manage their compulsive behaviors and is thought to help patients with coprolalia.[3]
The treatment with the most robust empirical support that exists is habit reversal therapy (HRT), in which the patient can learn to recognize the signs that the urge is coming and become aware of it, as well as creating a response to these signs or the tic. Other behavioral treatments that have been found efficacious in clinical trials include comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics (CBIT), and exposure-response prevention (ERP).[8]
Pharmacologic interventions:
The pharmacologic treatment of coprolalia in itself is rarely addressed directly in the literature. It is almost always found together with the treatment of tics (whether motor or phonatory), obsessive-compulsive disorder, impulsivity, and other conditions, including Tourette syndrome.
The primary differential diagnosis, when encountering coprolalia, is to determine if the patient meets the DSM 5 criteria for Tourette syndrome since most of the cases of coprolalia are associated with Tourette syndrome.
Other conditions that merit consideration in the differential diagnosis are Sydenham chorea and Hemiballismus. Both could have coprolalia involved but the motor tics and the ballistic/choreiform movements are pretty clear.[3] Seizures have also been noted to produce coprolalia. Ictal coprolalia associated with temporal or orbitofrontal epilepsy.[12] Startle syndromes (latah, miryachit): more common in women, often secondary to trauma, and consist of startle myoclonus associated with echolalia, coprolalia, often uttering sexually-oriented words, may imitate people around them or things they see/hear, as well as automatic obedience.[3] Another manifestation is klazomania, also known as compulsive shouting.[3]
Symptoms of coprolalia wax and wane over time and for no particular evident reason. A relationship with stress, whether emotional or physical, fatigue, caffeine, excitement (positive or negative), some medications, and hormonal changes (menstrual cycles) may be associated with exacerbating or worsening coprolalia and tics.[3][13] Relaxation, on the contrary, lessens the symptoms.[14]
A small percentage will have symptoms grow into adulthood with increased severity.[7]
While educating the families about coprolalia, its common presentations, comorbid conditions, prognosis, as well as course and treatment options, the discussion should include no active treatment (bur monitoring). Exacerbating and decreasing factors also require a review with the affected individual. The clinician should also bring informative websites to the patient's attention for more information and to connect with support groups.
Educational Aspect
Tourette syndrome and associated tics (such as coprolalia) can impact school performance in children in different ways, whether it is by interfering with studying, paying attention in class, and making it stressful for the child to be in the class. The stress of the classroom can make tics worse. The teachers may wrongly discipline them, or they may experience bullying by their classmates. All of which can lead to a decrease in academic performance and social isolation.[15]
Special education services are often recommendations. Educational support is available with a 504 modification plan (75% of kids with Tourette syndrome are given classroom accommodations, like being able to leave the classroom as needed, or ignoring their tics). And when the students have educational needs, these recommendations are included in the individualized education plan.
Primary care providers should offer referring individuals with coprolalia or Tourette to a behavioral or developmental specialist for further support and management.
Diagnosing and managing coprolalia requires the efforts of an interprofessional team. When the clinician suspects a condition associated with coprolalia, they should immediately enlist a psychiatric specialist. In the event pharmaceutical treatment is part of the treatment plan, and board-certified psychiatric pharmacist can provide additional direction on pharmaceutical care, including agent selection, dosing, and medication reconciliation. Psychiatric health nurses can assist in monitoring, counseling the patient and family, and assessing treatment progress and effectiveness. Social workers can interact with school officials and teachers to ensure the provision of proper accommodations there. In this manner, an open, communicating, interprofessional healthcare team can direct patient outcomes to optimal results. [Level V]
[1] | Robertson MM, The prevalence and epidemiology of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Part 2: tentative explanations for differing prevalence figures in GTS, including the possible effects of psychopathology, aetiology, cultural differences, and differing phenotypes. Journal of psychosomatic research. 2008 Nov [PubMed PMID: 18940378] |
[2] | Rose O,Hartmann A,Worbe Y,Scharf JM,Black KJ, Tourette syndrome research highlights from 2018. F1000Research. 2019; [PubMed PMID: 31508215] |
[3] | Singer C, Tourette syndrome. Coprolalia and other coprophenomena. Neurologic clinics. 1997 May; [PubMed PMID: 9115463] |
[4] | Kobierska M,Sitek M,Gocyła K,Janik P, Coprolalia and copropraxia in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Neurologia i neurochirurgia polska. 2014 Jan-Feb; [PubMed PMID: 24636763] |
[5] | Ganos C,Martino D, Tics and tourette syndrome. Neurologic clinics. 2015 Feb; [PubMed PMID: 25432726] |
[6] | Goldenberg JN,Brown SB,Weiner WJ, Coprolalia in younger patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. 1994 Nov; [PubMed PMID: 7845402] |
[7] | Serajee FJ,Mahbubul Huq AH, Advances in Tourette syndrome: diagnoses and treatment. Pediatric clinics of North America. 2015 Jun; [PubMed PMID: 26022170] |
[8] | Essoe JK,Grados MA,Singer HS,Myers NS,McGuire JF, Evidence-based treatment of Tourette's disorder and chronic tic disorders. Expert review of neurotherapeutics. 2019 Nov [PubMed PMID: 31295410] |
[9] | Duggal HS,Dutta S,Sinha VK, Clomipramine-induced affective psychosis and coprolalia in tourette syndrome. Indian journal of psychiatry. 2001 Oct; [PubMed PMID: 21407898] |
[10] | Sağlam E,Bilgiç A, Coprolalia Successfully Treated With Aripiprazole in a Child With Tourette Syndrome. Clinical neuropharmacology. 2019 Jul/Aug [PubMed PMID: 31192809] |
[11] | Pandey S,Srivanitchapoom P,Kirubakaran R,Berman BD, Botulinum toxin for motor and phonic tics in Tourette's syndrome. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2018 Jan 5 [PubMed PMID: 29304272] |
[12] | Massot-Tarrús A,Mousavi SR,Dove C,Hayman-Abello S S,Hayman-Abello B,Derry PA,Diosy DC,McLachlan RS,Burneo JG,Steven DA,Mirsattari SM, Coprolalia as a manifestation of epileptic seizures. Epilepsy & behavior : E&B. 2016 Jul [PubMed PMID: 27195785] |
[13] | Wolicki SB,Bitsko RH,Danielson ML,Holbrook JR,Zablotsky B,Walkup JT,Woods DW,Mink JW, Children with Tourette Syndrome in the United States: Parent-Reported Diagnosis, Co-Occurring Disorders, Severity, and Influence of Activities on Tics. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP. 2019 Jul/Aug; [PubMed PMID: 31318778] |
[14] | Groth C,Skov L,Lange T,Debes NM, Predictors of the Clinical Course of Tourette Syndrome: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of child neurology. 2019 Aug 14; [PubMed PMID: 31411102] |
[15] | Claussen AH,Bitsko RH,Holbrook JR,Bloomfield J,Giordano K, Impact of Tourette Syndrome on School Measures in a Nationally Representative Sample. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP. 2018 May; [PubMed PMID: 29432328] |