OCD

• OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• What is an obsession?

  Persistent thought, idea or impulse which causes anxiety
• What is a compulsion?

  Repetitive and ridged behaviour or mental act someone feels driven to preform
• What are two behavioural symptoms of OCD?

  • Repetitive actions
  • Avoidance
• what are two emotional symptoms of OCD?

  • Anxiety
  • Feelings of depression
• What are two cognitive symptoms of OCD?

  • Obsessive thoughts
  • Cognitive strategies
• What are the two explanations of OCD?

  1. Genetics
  2. Neural
• Lewis (1936) observed that OCD can run in families through parents and 37% of parents have OCD and 21% of siblings have OCD in OCD suffers
• The assumptions is that MZ twins will be 100% genetically identical as traits are biologicallay determined
• Nestadt found a 68% concordance rate for MZ twins and 31% for DZ twins
• What does the genetic explanation focus on?

  Identifying genes which are implicated in OCD
• What genes are implicated in OCD?

  • SERT gene
  • COMT gene
• COMT gene is associated in the regulation of dopamine
• COMT gene is associated in the regulation of dopamine
• Higher levels of dopamine is associated in OCD
• SERT gene is associated in the regulation of serotonin
• SERT gene is associated in the regulation of serotonin
• Low levels of serotonin have implications in OCD
• OCD is polygenic meaning multiple genes are invovled - Taylor insisted more than 230 are.
• What does it mean if so many genes are associated in OCD?

  It is harder to treat as unsure what causes what
• The neural explanation involves levels of neurotransmitters and structures of the brain
• Three parts of the brain are implicated in OCD and are; basal ganglia, thalamus And orbital-frontal cortex
• The OFC is involved in decision making
• The OFC and Thalamus are believed to be overactive in OCD
• An overactive thalamus results in increased motivation to clean or check
• An overactive OFC results in increased anxiety and planning to avoid anxiety
• The basal ganglia is invovled in coordination of movement
• Max et al (1994) found that a disconnected basal ganglia in surgery reduces OCD symptoms
• What did Max et al (1994) say?

  A disconnected basal ganglia in surgery reduces OCD symptoms
• Low levels of serotonin cause the normal transmission of mood-relevant information to be disrupted
• Neural explanation has biological reductionism as it overlooks the complexity of the whole person and does not consider other contributing factors which are not biological