serotonin

• why is the communication impaired in people with ocd?

  people with ocd have a reduction of serotonin in their brain
• serotonin

  neurotransmitter which is released from the pre-synaptic terminal during synaptic transmission, happiness
• when basal ganglia sends electrical signals back to orbitofrontal cortex, one of main neurotransmitters released into the cortex is serotonin
• in orbitofrontal cortex serotonin is inhibitory
• serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter so it causes inhibitory post-synaptic potentials to occur in post-synaptic neurons
• serotonin decreases neural activity in orbitofrontal cortex neurons
• basal ganglia uses serotonin to inhibit orbitofrontal cortex
• research has suggested that people with ocd have a reduction in serotonin in their orbitofrontal cortex, when basal ganglia sends signals to cortex less serotonin is released then usual
• for people with OCD, the neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex are not as inhibited so become hyperactive
• if neurons in orbitofrontal cortex are hyperactive signals in response to the worrying stimuli persist