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AS-Psychology(*) > Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) > Flashcards

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Flashcards

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1
Q

what are obsessions

A

recurrent or persistent thoughts that are unwanted and cause distress

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2
Q

what are compulsions

A

repetitive activites that the persom feels driven to perform in response to an obsession

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3
Q

give 3 behavioural characteristics of OCD

A
  1. compulsions are repetive
  2. compulsions reduce anxiety
  3. avoidance
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4
Q

give 3 emotional characteristics of OCD

A
  1. anxiety and distress
  2. accompanying depression
  3. guilt and disgust
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5
Q

explain 3 cognitive characteristics of OCD

A
  1. obsessive thoughts - for 90% of people with OCD the main coginitive feature is obsessive thoughts
  2. cognitive coping strategies - people adopt cogntitve coping strategies to deal with obsessions
  3. insight into excessive anxiety - people with OCD are aware their obsessions are not rational
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6
Q

genetic explanation

  • explain the genetic explanation of OCD
  • give studies which support this
A

Genes are involves in individual vulneranility to OCD

  • Nestadt et al found 68% of monozygotic twins had OCD compared to 31% dizygotic twins
  • Lewis observed that of his OCD patients, 37% had parents with the disorder
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7
Q

genetic explanation

what is the diathesis stress model

A

where certain genes leave some people more likely to develop a mental disorder but is not certain

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8
Q

genetic explanation

explain the study that is a weakness for the genetic explanation

A

Cromer et al (2017)

  • found that over half of his OCD patients had experienced a traumatic event in their past
  • this shows an environmental trigger is needed so dvelopment of OCD is not entirely genetic
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9
Q

genetic explanation

give the 2 candidate genes which are involves in the development of OCD

A
  • SERT
  • COMT
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10
Q

genetic explanation

explain how the SERT gene can lead to OCD

A
  • this gene is responsible for the regulation of the serotonin system
  • in people with OCD it is thought that this gene is faulty, leading to lower levels of serotonin
  • this is thought to cause OCD symptoms
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11
Q

genetic explanation

explain how the COMT gene can lead to OCD

A
  • this gene is responsible for the production of an enzyme that breaks down dopamine
  • it is thought that people with OCD have a mutation in this gene
  • this causes higher levels of dopamine which are linked to OCD symptoms
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12
Q

genetic explanation

a combination of genes deterine an individuals level of vulnerability to OCD, therefore OCD is ———-

A

polygenic

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13
Q

neural explanation

explain the role of serotonin and how it may cause OCD

A
  • serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood
  • if someone has low levels of serotonin then they may experience low moods
  • some cases of OCD may be explained by a reduction in the functioning of the serotonin system
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14
Q

neural explanation

explain how the decision making systems may lead to OCD

A
  • some cases of OCD may be associated with impaired decision making
  • this may be associated with abnormal functioning of the lateral and orbital prefrontal cortex
  • these lobes are responsible for logical thinking
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15
Q

neural explanation

what brain areas are involved in the neural explanation of OCD

A
  • caudate nucleus
  • orbital frontal cortex
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16
Q

neural exlanation

explain how the orbital frontal cortex and caudate nucleus can lead to the development of OCD

A
  • PET scans show people with OCD have high levels of activity in the orbital frontal cortex, a brain area responsible for the initiation of acivity so sends a worry signal
  • therefore, people with OCD send too much worry signals
  • the caudate nucleus is responsible for suppressing some of the signals sent by the OFC but people with OCD have an impaired caudate nucleus
  • this means the worry signals wont be switched off creating a “worry circuit”
17
Q

neural explanation

give a strength for the neural explanation of OCD

A

development of treatments such as SSRIs

18
Q

neural explanation

give a limitation for the neural explanation of OCD

A

all evidence is simply correlational

19
Q

neural explanation

what is the main treatment used for OCD

A

SSRIs

20
Q

neural explanation

explain how SSRIs work

A
  • they prevent reabsorbtion of serotonin on the presynptic cell
  • therefore, more sorotonin binds to receptors on the post synpatic cell
21
Q

neural explanation

give a strength of SSRIs

A

Soomro

  • symptoms reduce by 70%
22
Q

neural explanation

give a limitation of SSRIs

A

side effects

23
Q

neural explanation

explain a treatment used for OCD other than SSRIs

A

benzodiazepines which slows down activity in the central nervous system by enhancing GABA activity

AS-Psychology(*) (38 decks)

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