If you ask the average person to describe Tourette's Syndrome, they will likely mimic a sudden, loud outburst, sometimes bordering on or being outright obscene.

This instinctive association with swearing stems from coprolalia, an involuntary vocal tic characterised by the utterance of vulgar or socially inappropriate language, which has come to define the condition in the popular imagination.

The clinical reality, however, is far more nuanced. Tourette's is a neurodevelopmental disorder rooted in the brain's basal ganglia, a cluster of structures responsible for regulating movement and motor control.

When these systems misfire, the result is tics; sudden, repetitive, and largely uncontrollable movements or vocalisations.

These can range from...