Echopraxia

Echopraxia (also known as echokinesis) is the involuntary repetition or imitation of another person's actions. Similar to echolalia, the involuntary repetition of sounds and language, it is one of the echophenomena ('automatic imitative actions without explicit awareness'). It has long been recognized as a core feature of Tourette syndrome, and is considered a complex tic, but it also occurs in autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia and catatonia, aphasia, and disorders involving the startle reflex such as Latah. Echopraxia has also been observed in individuals with frontal lobe damage, epilepsy, dementia and autoimmune disorders; the causes of and the link between echopraxia and these disorders is undetermined. Echopraxia (also known as echokinesis) is the involuntary repetition or imitation of another person's actions. Similar to echolalia, the involuntary repetition of sounds and language, it is one of the echophenomena ('automatic imitative actions without explicit awareness'). It has long been recognized as a core feature of Tourette syndrome, and is considered a complex tic, but it also occurs in autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia and catatonia, aphasia, and disorders involving the startle reflex such as Latah. Echopraxia has also been observed in individuals with frontal lobe damage, epilepsy, dementia and autoimmune disorders; the causes of and the link between echopraxia and these disorders is undetermined. The etymology of the term is from Ancient Greek: 'ἠχώ (ēkhō) from ἠχή (ēkhē 'sound') and 'πρᾶξις (praksis, 'action, activity, practice)'.