OCD Flashcards
What are compulsions?
Repetitive rituals of activity or thought processes that continue overtime
Give examples of compulsions
-Checking
-Contamination
-Hoarding
What are cognitive characteristics of OCD?
Uncontrollable thoughts, images, impulses, fears, doubts.
What are emotional characteristics of OCD?
Concern and upset caused by the realisation that the behaviours are irrational
What are behavioural characteristics of OCD?
Compulsive behaviours
Low levels of COMT activity lead to what levels of dopamine?
High levels of dopmaine
Who proposed the relationship between dopamine and the COMT gene?
Tukel et al
What do high levels of dopamine create?
High levels of dopamine manifest into compulsions.
Mutations of the SERT gene lead to what levels of seratonin?
Low levels of serotonin.
What did Ozaki et al find out about OCD and family relations?
Two unrelated families with mutations of the SERT genes of which, 6 out of 7 family members has OCD.
What is the Neural explanation for OCD?
If the caudate nucleus is damages, the worry is not suppressed and the thalamus is alerted. Creating a ‘worry circuit’.
What did Sukel find about the caudate nucleus and neurotransmitters?
Dopamine was implicated in the malfunction of the caudate nucleus. leading to high dopamine levels.
What is the diathesis stress model?
States that certain genes leaves some people more likely to develop a mental disorder.
What does SSRI stand for?
Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors.
What do SSRIs do?
They block the seratonin receptor sites which increases the amount of seratonin in the synapse.
What is the function of Tricyclics?
They have the same function as SSRIs, they also affect dopamine.
Evaluate biological explanations for OCD.
+Supporting evidence from Nestadt et al- 68% of identical twins shared OCD compared to 31% of non-twins.
-Criticised for being a very limited explanation.
It ignored factors such as environment, childhood and everyday stressors.
-Considered very deterministic.
Suggesting that we have no free will and there is nothing we can do to avoid inheriting OCD.
Give advantages of biological treatments for OCD.
+Drugs have been found to be effective when taken in the short term.
+Much cheaper treatment than other psychological treatments.
Has positive implications for the economy.
Give disadvantages of biological treatments for OCD.
-Drugs are not effective long term.
-Drugs have side effects, more than 1 in 10 will experience weight gain.
-They reduce a person’s quality of life, so they often stop taking the drugs.
