A rare syndrome of multiple tics, which may include snorting, involuntary grunting or high-pitched vocalization, swearing, or repetitive motor behavior like jumping up and down or turning in a circle. Afflicted individuals often report a mysterious compulsion to carry out these motor activities. So-called Touretters can be highly intelligent, creative individuals. Oliver Sacks' account of a successful surgeon who has Tourette's syndrome in An Anthropologist on Mars is fascinating. A number of drugs currently on the market can reduce the symptoms in these individuals. However many report that these drugs also blunt their energetic and creative personalities, and they prefer to live with the "compulsions" of their disease. Tourette's syndrome apparently involves metabolic alterations centered in the caudate nucleus, although other parts of the extrapyramidal system may also be involved.