biological approach to explaining OCD Flashcards
What is a significant biological component of some mental disorders?
OCD
OCD is a condition that may be largely understood as biological in nature.
What type of biological explanation is mentioned in relation to OCD?
Genetic explanation
What percentage of Aubrey Lewis’s OCD patients had parents with OCD?
37%
This observation suggests that OCD runs in families.
What percentage of Aubrey Lewis’s OCD patients had siblings with OCD?
21%
What does the diathesis-stress model suggest about mental disorders?
Certain genes leave some people more likely to develop a mental disorder
What is necessary to trigger the condition of OCD according to the diathesis-stress model?
Some environmental stress
What are the genes that create vulnerability for OCD called?
Candidate genes
Which gene is implicated in the transport of serotonin across synapses?
5HT1-D beta
What does it mean for OCD to be polygenic?
OCD is caused by a combination of genetic variations
How many different genes may be involved in OCD according to Steven Taylor’s analysis?
Up to 230
Which neurotransmitters are believed to have a role in regulating mood in relation to OCD?
Dopamine and serotonin
What term describes the variation in genetic origins of OCD from one person to another?
Aetiologically heterogeneous
What types of OCD may be the result of particular genetic variations?
Hoarding disorder and religious obsession
What do neural explanations for OCD involve?
Genes affecting neurotransmitter levels and brain structures
Neural explanations focus on biological factors influencing OCD.
What role does serotonin play in OCD?
Regulates mood and normal transmission of mood-relevant information
Low serotonin levels can lead to low moods and affect mental processes.
What may be a consequence of low levels of serotonin in relation to OCD?
Reduced functioning of the serotonin system in the brain
This reduction may explain some cases of OCD.
What decision-making issues are associated with certain cases of OCD?
Impaired decision-making, particularly in hoarding disorder
This impairment is linked to abnormal functioning of the frontal lobes.
Which part of the brain is primarily responsible for logical thinking and making decisions?
Frontal lobes
The frontal lobes are located behind the forehead.
What area of the brain is associated with processing unpleasant emotions in OCD?
Left parahippocampal gyrus
Abnormal functioning of this area is linked to OCD.
True or False: The frontal lobes are involved in emotional processing.
False
The frontal lobes are more associated with logical thinking and decision-making.
Fill in the blank: Neurotransmitters are responsible for relaying information from one neuron to _______.
[another neuron]
What is one strength of the genetic explanation for OCD?
The strong evidence base.
What did twin studies by Gerald Nestadt et al. (2010) find regarding identical twins (MZ) and non-identical twins (DZ) in relation to OCD?
68% of identical twins shared OCD, compared to 31% of non-identical twins.
According to family studies, how much more likely is a person with a family member diagnosed with OCD to develop it?
Around four times as likely.
What limitation does the genetic model of OCD have?
There are also environmental risk factors.
What does research suggest about the role of environmental risk factors in OCD?
They can trigger or increase the risk of developing OCD.
In the study by Kiara Cromer et al. (2007), what percentage of OCD clients had experienced a traumatic event?
Over half.
How does the severity of OCD relate to the number of traumatic events experienced?
OCD was more severe in those with one or more traumas.
Fill in the blank: Genetic vulnerability only provides a _______ explanation for OCD.
partial
True or False: OCD appears to be entirely genetic in origin.
False
What is one strength of the neural model of OCD?
The existence of supporting evidence, such as the effectiveness of antidepressants that work on serotonin in reducing OCD symptoms.
This suggests a potential involvement of serotonin in OCD.
What biological disorder is mentioned that produces OCD symptoms?
Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is known to cause muscle tremors and paralysis.
What is implied about biological factors in relation to OCD?
Biological factors, such as serotonin and processes underlying certain disorders, may be responsible for OCD.
This suggests that OCD could have a biological basis.
What is a limitation of the neural model of OCD?
The serotonin-OCD link may not be unique to OCD.
Many people with OCD also experience clinical depression.
What is co-morbidity?
Having two disorders together.
In this context, it refers to OCD and clinical depression occurring simultaneously.
How does clinical depression relate to serotonin in individuals with OCD?
Clinical depression probably involves disruption to the action of serotonin.
This raises questions about the role of serotonin in OCD symptoms.
What logical problem arises regarding serotonin’s role in OCD?
Serotonin activity may be disrupted in many people with OCD because they are depressed as well.
This implies that serotonin may not be directly relevant to OCD symptoms.
Fill in the blank: If a biological disorder produces OCD symptoms, then we may assume the biological processes underlying _______ are also involved in OCD.
[certain disorders]
What is the biological approach?
A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function.
What are genetic explanations?
Genes make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism and psychological features.
What do genes determine?
Physical features (such as eye colour, height) and psychological features (such as mental disorder, intelligence).
How are genes transmitted?
From parents to offspring, i.e. inherited.
What are neural explanations?
The view that physical and psychological characteristics are determined by the behaviour of the nervous system.
Which part of the nervous system is particularly important in neural explanations?
The brain as well as individual neurons.
Fill in the blank: Genes consist of _______.
[DNA]
True or False: The biological approach only focuses on psychological processes.
False
