detects the worrying stimuli and decides on an action to deal with worrying stimuli, and sends signals to parts of brain that control movement (motor cortex)
motor cortex
sends signals to muscles to make us perform action
basal ganglia
monitors outcomes of action to check they have predicted effects, and sends signals to orbitofrontal cortex letting it know whether actions were successful
basal ganglia signals block nerve impulses from occurring in the orbitofrontal cortex, to make neurons there less active (inhibits neural acitivity)
signals from basal gangliainhibit neural activity in orbitofrontal cortex that makes signals from orbitofrontal cortex about worrying stimulus shut down
what happens in the brain in someone with ocd
when communication is impaired between the basal ganglia and the orbitofrontal cortex, the basal ganglia’s signals are much weaker than usual, which means the neural activity is less inhibited than it should be
what happens in the brain in someone with ocd
orbitofrontal cortex is hyperactive, which means it keeps generating messages about the worrying stimulus
