Define OCD
Affects people differently, but usually causes a particular pattern of thoughts and behaviours known as compulsion and obsessions.
- Obsession: where an unwanted, intrusive and often distressing thought image or urge repeatedly enters your mind. E.g. obsessive thoughts about infection.
- Anxiety: The obsession provokes a feeling of intense anxiety or distress.
- Compulsion: repetitive behaviours or mental acts that you feel driven to perform as a result of the anxiety and distress caused by the obsession. E.g. repeatedly washing hands.
- Temporary relief: the compulsive behaviour temporarily relieves the anxiety, but the obsession and anxiety soon returns, causing the cycle to begin again.
Behavioural Characteristics of OCD
Compulsions
• Repetitive: sufferers feel compelled to repeat behaviour to manage/reduce anxiety produced by the obsessions.
• Avoidance: try to reduce anxiety by avoiding situations that trigger it.
Emotional Characteristics of OCD
- Anxiety and depressions: anxiety (panic attacks) and depression (low mood, avolition) accompany OCD as compulsions only bring temporary relief. (Avolition – decrease in motivation to initiate self-directed purposeful activities e.g. hobbies)
- Guilt and disgust: irrational guilt or disgust over their own anxiety and obsessions, or external things such as dirt.
Cognitive Characteristics of OCD
- Obsessive thoughts: recurring thoughts which vary in severity but are always unpleasant.
- Excessive worry: aware their obsessions and compulsions are irrational but have catastrophic thoughts that the small chance of something occurring might happen to them.
What are the 2 Biological explanations of OCD?
Genetic and Neural (Neurochemistry and Neuroanatomy)
Explain the Genetic Explanation
- Lewis (1936) Out of his OCD patients 37% had parents with OCD and 21% had siblings with OCD (family study)
- Nestadt (2010) Found concordance rates of 66% for MZ twins and 31% for DZ twins (Twin study)
- Suggests OCD has a genetic predisposition
- OCD vulnerability may be passed on, but not the certainty of developing OCD.
- The diathesis-stress model states that someone may be vulnerable to having OCD because of their genetics, but not experience it until something environmental occurs, like a stressful event. Some people may be genetically vulnerable but never actually present with the disorder.
- Genetic vulnerability: certain genes known as ‘candidate genes’ are thought to be responsible for OCD. There are several genes (230 potential OCD genes) thought to be involved in OCD not just one. This is called polygenic.
Name the 2 candidate Genes
Comt and Sert
Explain the Neuroanatomy Explanation
- Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
• Is involved in decision making
• Impulses such as to check and clean arise from this area of the brain
• Involved in repetitive behaviours.
• Ursu and Carter (2009) monitored the brain activity of 15 OCD patients and found hyperactivity in the Orbitofrontal cortex.
• Involved un worry about social situations and other behaviours
• Overactivity would result in increased anxiety and increased planning to avoid anxiety. - Basal Ganglia
• Is involved in procedural learning, movement and habitual behaviours, is overactive.
• Brain surgery that disconnects the Basal Ganglia from the Frontal Cortex can reduce symptoms of OCD.
• Head injuries that cause damage to the Basal Ganglia can lead to OCD symptoms
• Research suggests that the communication between these parts of the brain are nor functioning correctly.
• Basically, when anxiety rises in the OCD sufferer, a circuit of inappropriate response happens between these parts of the brain.
Explain the Neurochemistry Explanation
- Role of Serotonin (neurotransmitter)
- PET scans have shown low levels of serotonin activity in the brains of OCD patients and drugs that increase serotonin have been found to reduce OCD symptoms.
- HU (2006) found lower serotonin levels in OCD patient than non-OCD patients.
- SSRIs can be used to increase levels of serotonin
2 strengths of the Biological Approach in EXPLAINING OCD
Useful and Scientific
2 limitations of the Biological Approach in EXPLAINING OCD
Reductionist and Determinist
2 strengths of the Biological Approach in TREATING OCD
Useful/Effective and Convenient/Cost Effective
2 limitations of the Biological Approach in TREATING OCD
Biased Medical Trials and Side Effects
Explain the use of SSRI’s in OCD
Drug therapy aims to either increase or decrease the levels of neurotransmitter in the brain (synapse).
In OCD, it is thought that the neurotransmitter involved is serotonin. Levels of this neurotransmitter are thought to be too low. Drug therapy aims to increase levels of this neurotransmitter. By doing so, a reduction in the symptoms of OCD would occur.
What can be used to TREAT OCD?
SSRI’s and CBT
