Biological Approach to explaining OCD

Question 1

What is meant by nature vs nurture?

Answer 1

This is a debate between involving whether human behaviour is determined by environment or by a person’s genes (nature)

Question 2

How do family studies (e.g brothers , sisters, or mothers and children) may be useful when investigating the genetic basis of adnormality?

Answer 2

• It is useful to study inheritance

Question 3

What is monozygotic twins?

Answer 3

Identical twins

Question 4

What is dizygotic twins?

Answer 4

Non-identical twins

Question 5

Why are monozygotic and dizygotic twins used to study?

Answer 5

Monozygotic twins are better as they can find a common trait betwen them

Question 6

What other reasons , apart from genetics , might explain why members of the same family are more likely to develop OCD?

Answer 6

They are more likely due to stress or parenting styles

Question 7

What is geneticallt inherited gene?

Answer 7

Cause neurotransmitters to produce high or low levels of chemicals that could explain OCD

Question 8

How do seretonin or dpomaine work together?

Answer 8

Work together or seprately

Question 9

What is COMT gene?

Answer 9

Catechol-o-methlytransferase

It affects levels of dpomaine- linked with OCD

Question 10

What is SERT gene?

Answer 10

Affects as lowers levels of seretonin

Question 11

What is seretonin effect?

Answer 11

Calming

Question 12

What is genetic explanarions of OCD?

Answer 12

1. COMT gene
2. SERT gene

Question 13

Explain how neurotransmitters could cause OCD?

Answer 13

Higher activity in the frontal lobe

Linked with higher levels of dopamine

Lowers levels of seretonin

Antidepressanrs increase seretonin levels and reduce OCD symptons

Seretonin interacts with dopmaine and therefore suggest both neurotransmitters could cause OCD

Question 14

Abnormal brain circuits

Explain what brain scans show

Answer 14

Over activity in the frontal lobe

This is obsessional thinking

‘Worry signal’ - The OFC sends ‘worry signals’ to thalamus

Normally stressed by colculu nucleuis but if damaged then thalamus is alerted then confirms ‘worry’to OFC

Question 15

What does the biological approach assume?

Answer 15

The psychological abnormalities are symptons of underlying physical causes

Question 16

What are neurotransmitters?

Answer 16

Chemicals thar carry signals between brain cells suggesting that too much or too little neurotransmitters may result in psychological disorders

e.g genes

Question 17

Strength

There is some supporting evidence for neural explanations of OCD

Answer 17

Antidepresants that work purely on the seretonin system thar are effective in reducing OCD symptons and this suggests that seretonin system may be involed in OCD

Also OCD symptons from a part of biological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease

This suggests that biologicl processes that cause symptons in those conditons may be responsible for OCD

Question 18

Limitation

environmental risk factors are involved

Answer 18

• It is not just genes but it seems that environmental rsisk factors can also trigger or increase the risk of developing OCD
• For example , Cromer et al found that over half the OCD paitents in their sample in traumatic event in their past , OCD was more servere than those with one or more traumas
• This supports diathesis-stress model. Focusing on envirnomental causes may be more productive because we are more able to do something about these

Question 19

Strength

good-supporting evidence for genetic explanation of OCD

Answer 19

• There is evidence froma variety of sources which suggests thar some people are vulnerable to OCD as a result of their genetic make-up
• Fot example Nestadt et al reviewed twin studies and found 68% of identical twins MZ shared OCD as opposed to 31% of DZ
• This strongly supports a genetic influence of OCD