OCD Flashcards
Behavioural Characteristics
Compulsions/ repetitive behaviour
Avoidance
Emotional characteristics
High anxiety/low mood
Disgust/ self-loathing
Cognitive characteristics
Obsessions/obsessive thoughts/irrational beliefs
Insight into irrationality of thoughts and behaviour/awareness that behaviour is irrational/insight into excessive anxiety
Hyper vigilance/selective attention
Compulsions
Repetitive actions that can seriously hinder the person’s ability to perform everyday tasks.
Reduce anxiety created by obsessions
Feels like they must perform these actions or something dreadful might happen
Avoidance
Try to reduce anxiety by avoiding situations that might trigger it.
High anxiety/ low mood
The obsessions and compulsions are a source of considerable anxiety and distress. They’re aware that these are excessive- causes shame and embarrassment. Might be aware that can’t control compulsive behaviour- strong feelings of distress.
Obsessions
Persistent, intrusive, irrational thoughts perceived as inappropriate or forbidden. May be frightening or embarrassing.
Not worries about everyday problems, uncontrollable and cause anxiety.
Catastrophic thinking - think something terrible will happen if they don’t follow compulsions.
Awareness behaviour is irrational
Most sufferers know their obsessions and compulsions are inappropriate or irrational, but can’t consciously control or stop them.
Hyper vigilance
Increased awareness of source of obsession in new situations.
Polygenic
one single gene is not responsible for the disorder
Candidate genes
Genes that may be responsible for a behaviour
GABA
Neurotransmitter that is released when people take Benzodiazepine
SERT
Gene that affects transportation of Serotonin
COMT
Gene that regulates production of the neurotransmitter dopamine
Serotonin
Low levels of this neurotransmitter will result in a low mood
Caudate nucleus
Area of the brain that serotonin plays a key role in operating
SSRI
Drug that prevents serotonin being reabsorbed by the pre-synaptic neuron
Genetic explanation
Some researchers suggest that OCd is an inherited condition
Dopamine
Higher levels of dopamine have been found to be more common in OCD patients
Genetic explanations
COMT gene variation that leads to higher dopamine, more common in OCD patients .
SERT gene where it causes lower levels of serotonin, have been linked to OCD.
Strengths of genetics explanations
Research support - found concordance rates for OCD between monozygotic twins was significantly higher than between dizygotic twins.
Animal studies have found there is genetic basis for repetitive ritualistic behaviour in animals. E.g. common gene in mice who display ritualistic behaviour.
Weakness of genetic explanations
Around half of all cases of OCD tend to follow trauma, undermining genetic explanation. Also cannot account for cases of OCD in families where there is no previous history of OCD.
Neural explanations
Dopamine and serotonin are neurotransmitters that affect mood. Abnormal levels of these neurotransmitters are associated with abnormal transmission of mood-related information.
Dopamine - neural explanation
OCD sufferers have high levels of dopamine, which have been linked to over hyperactivity in the basal ganglia area in the brain. This causes repetitive motor functions e.g. compulsions.