Biological approach- OCD Flashcards
Starting sentence of an essay- explanation?
OCD is a physical illness with a physical cause- it has a biological basis
Sentence AO1- Genetics?
Psychologists looks at people who have a relative with OCD to see if it significantly increases the chances of developing OCD
Lewis findings
Out of the OCD patients he studied 36% had a parent with OCD and 21% a sibling with OCD- genetic importance
What are candidate genes?
Create a vulnerability to developing OCD- linked to lack of serotonin- linked to OCD and depression
What does polygenic mean?
OCD is not caused by a single gene
Taylor research?
230 genes involved in the condition OCD
Limitation of Taylor research?
It is difficult to pinpoint all and what genes are involved
Define Aetiologically heterogeneous?
Different types of OCD, different genes cause OCD in different people
What do PET scans show regarding OCD?
OCD patients have lower serotonin levels
Supporting evidence for role of serotonin?
SSRI’s are used to treat OCD and can reduce OCD symptoms by 50%-60%
Evidence contradicting the role of serotonin?
SSRI’s don’t work for all patients and could instead provide a correlational link- decreased level of serotonin could be a symptom
Neurological basis on OCD?
Damage in the basal ganglia- for example in patients with head injuries, causes increased activity during OCD obsessions and compulsions
Why is the biological approach ethically sound?
Patients are not blamed for their condition
Why is the biological approach unethical/
Drug treatments always have the possibility of leading to addiction- do drugs only suppress rather than cure condition
Billet research?
Twin study- found that 68% of identical twins had OCD if one twin had the condition- 31% for other
Paul research?
10% of those with an immediate relative also suffered from OCD
Limitations of genetic explanation?
No study has 100% concordance rates- genes cannot be sole explanation - nature, nurture - role of environment
Influence of imitations- do people just imitate behaviour they see relatives exhibit
Genes not cause of OCD- cause of anxiety that results in OCD- issues of co-morbidity?
Cromer research?
1/2 of patients with OCD have had a trauma- genes not the sole explanation
4 types of OCD?
Checking
Hoarding
Symmetry
Contamination
Obsession=?
Cognitive element- excessive and repetitive thoughts that cause unwanted stress
Compulsions=?
Repetitive actions- external- behavioural aspect- only reduces anxiety caused by compulsions for a small amount of time
Why are drug treatments favoured over CBT?
They are cost effective- for both patient and NHS
They do not require the motivation of a patient- take dosage until symptom is alleviated
What is the job of SSRI?
Anti-depressant drug that looks to increase the availability of serotonin within the brain- they prevent the reuptake of serotonin in the synaptic cleft so there is more serotonin for next neuron
Research into SSRI’s?
Thoren found that SSRI’s are better than placebos at treating OCD
Other antidepressant drugs that don’t affect serotonin levels are ineffective at reducing OCD symptoms
How many patients experience no improvement when using SSRI’s?
50%
How many relapse after using SSRI’S?
90%
How many weeks to SSRI’S take to work?
several
What is the impact of side effects?
Nausea, headaches and anxiety, blurred vision and loss of sex drive
People stop taking their medications
When are SSRI’s more effective?
When combined with a psychological treatment as it is argued that SSRI’s treat 70% if symptoms and when combined with other treatments the other 30% are addressed
What is an SNRI?
An alternative drug to SSRI for people who do not respond well- increases serotonin and noradrenaline
Influence of dopamine?
Drugs that reduce levels of dopamine positively
correlates to reduction of OCD symptoms
Animal studies which inject dopamine = OCD symptom
