science

Premonitory urge

Premonitory urge is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Premonitory urge rather than just read about it. In short: A premonitory urge is a sensory phenomenon associated with Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Premonitory urges are "uncomfortable feelings or sensations preceding tics that usually are relieved by [a particular] movement". "Individuals with tics may have either a generalized or a localized sensation of tension that is relieved by movement, [that is] the tic." Sensory phenomena in tic disorders include bodil…

Key takeaways

Premonitory urge belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Premonitory urge to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Premonitory urge from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A premonitory urge is a sensory phenomenon associated with Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Premonitory urges are "uncomfortable feelings or sensations preceding tics that usually are relieved by [a particular] movement". "Individuals with tics may have either a generalized or a localized sensation of tension that is relieved by movement, [that is] the tic." Sensory phenomena in tic disorders include bodily sensations, mental urges, and a sense of inner tension, feelings of incompleteness, and a need for things to be "just right". Bodily sensations include focal or generalized body sensations (usually tactile, muscular-skeletal/visceral, or both); mental sensations include urge only, energy release (mental energy that builds up and needs to be discharged), incompleteness, and just-right perceptions. Published descriptions of the tics of Tourette's identify sensory phenomena as the core symptom of Tourette syndrome, even though they are not included in the diagnostic criteria. In contrast to the stereotyped movements of other movement disorders such as choreas, dystonias, myoclonus, and dyskinesias, the tics of Tourette's are temporarily suppressible and preceded by this premonitory urge. Immediately preceding tic onset, most individuals with Tourette syndrome are aware of an urge, which is similar to the need to sneeze or scratch an itch. Individuals describe the need to tic as the buildup of tension in a particular anatomical location, which they consciously choose to release, as if the subject "had to do it". Examples of the premonitory urge are the feeling of having something in one's throat, or a localized discomfort in the shoulders, leading to the need to clear one's throat or shrug the shoulders. The actual tic may be felt as relieving this tension or sensation, similar to scratching an itch. Another example is blinking to relieve an uncomfortable sensation in the eye. The presence of sensory phenomena differentiates subjects with Tourette syndrome plus obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) from subjects with OCD alone, and may be an important measure for grouping patients along the OCD-Tourette's disorder spectrum.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Premonitory urge

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Premonitory urge claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Premonitory urge before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Premonitory urge ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Premonitory urge

In research: Premonitory urge appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Premonitory urge in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Premonitory urge is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Tourette syndrome, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Premonitory urge outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Premonitory urge in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Premonitory urge means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Premonitory urge out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Premonitory urge in simple terms?

Why does Premonitory urge matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Premonitory urge?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Premonitory urge.