Copropraxia is a tic consisting of involuntarily performing obscene or forbidden gestures, or inappropriate touching. Copropraxia comes from the Greek "κόπρος" meaning "feces" and "πράξις" meaning "action". Copropraxia is a rare characteristic of Tourette syndrome.

Related terms are coprolalia, referring to involuntary usage of profane words, and coprographia, making vulgar writings or drawings.

Coprolalia is involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks. Coprolalia comes from the Greek κόπρος ("kopros") meaning "feces" and λαλιά ("lalia") from "lalein", "to talk".

Coprolalia is an occasional characteristic of tic disorders, in particular Tourette syndrome, although it is not required for a diagnosis of Tourette's, and only about 10% of Tourette's patients exhibit coprolalia. It is not unique to tic disorders; it is also a rare symptom of other neurological disorders.

Related involuntary actions are copropraxia, performing obscene or forbidden gestures, and coprographia, making obscene writings or drawings.

Coprolalia is a manifestation that may come from or may be a part of many different underlying causes. Most commonly, however, people seem to associate coprolalia with Tourette syndrome. When it comes to Tourette syndrome, the pathology of what causes this type of tic is not well pinpointed, but there are several correlations.

First of all, some research has pinpointed decreased grey matter thickness within the insula and sensorimotor cortex as the cause of some cases. Research notes that behavioral and functional brain imaging evidence indicates that the premonitory sensory phenomena (PSP) is associated with brain activity in the insular cortex, which is linked to interoceptive awareness. In the results of this research, it is noted that increased tic severity scores are associated with premonitory urges. Along with this, there is also evidence for the involvement of the insular cortex in the perception of urges. When conducting the research, the researchers of this report found that there was a relationship between grey matter thickness and PSP and that premonitory urges in Tourette syndrome are inversely associated with grey matter thickness in the sensorimotor and insular cortices. [30]

Another possibility when it comes to Tourette syndrome is genetics. In a study conducted in 2017, researchers found that there was a possible genetic and neurobiological relationship of the disinhibition phenotype in Tourette syndrome patients. However, it is noted that more research would be needed to determine a direct relationship. [31]

Coprolalia is not unique to tic disorders; it is also a rare symptom of other neurological disorders.[9][10] It may occur after injuries to the brain such as stroke[10] and encephalitis;[10][11] in other neurological conditions such as choreoacanthocytosis,[12] seizures,[13] and Lesch–Nyhan syndrome;[14] and rarely in persons with dementia or obsessive- compulsive disorder in the absence of tics.[10]

Coprographia is involuntarily making vulgar writings or drawings. Coprographia comes from the Greek "κόπρος" meaning "feces" and "graphia" meaning to write.

Related terms are coprolalia, the involuntary usage of scatalogical words, and copropraxia, the involuntary performance of obscene gestures.