OCD Temp

Question 1

Behavioural Characteristics of OCD

Answer 1

• compulsions- repetitive actions, must be done or something bad will happen.
• avoidance-believe it’ll reduce anxiety

Question 2

Emotional Characteristics of OCD

Answer 2

• disgust

- A high anxiety-distress as they know they aren’t in control, shame/embarrassment

Question 3

Cognitive characteristics of OCD

Answer 3

• Awareness that behaviour is irrational
• catastrophic thinking-scared something bad will happen if they don’t carry out compulsion
• Obsessions- recurrent, irrational, intrusive thoughts (inappropriate/forbidden), common: doubt impulses images

Question 4

genetic explanation

Answer 4

Polygenic-not a single gene is responsible

Instead many genes may be (candidate genes)

Question 5

COMT Gene

Answer 5

Regulates dopamine production.
High levels are associated with OCD
a variation has higher levels of dopamine (common in OCD)

Question 6

SERT Gene

Answer 6

• affects transportation of serotonin

- causing low levels, linked with OCD

Question 7

Evaluation of Genetic Explanation

Answer 7

+nestadt -1st degree relative who had OCD were 5X more likely to get it
+Billette- meta-analysis of 14 twins ocd is 2x more likely to be concordant in identical than non.
-concordance rate in identical twins 100% therefore not entirely genetic factors.

Question 8

Neural explanations

Answer 8

-high dopamine linked to over hyperactivity in basal anglia.
Leads to repetitive motor functions -e.g compulsions
-low levels of serotonin cause caudate nucleus to malfunction resulting in obsessions.

Question 9

Evaluation of neural transmissions

Answer 9

+ anti-depressant drugs increase serotonin and decrease OCD symptoms
- neurotransmitters may not cause it, may in fact be a symptom

Question 10

How does biological approach treat OCD?

Answer 10

uses medication to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters, or the activity neurotransmitters, in the brain.
the general purpose is to decrease anxiety, lower arousal, and lower blood pressure or decrease heart rate.

Question 11

What are SSRIs

Answer 11

• anti depressant drugs called
• selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors
• a method of treating ocd that works on the serotonin system in the brain

Question 12

SSRIs prevent

Answer 12

reabsorption and breakdown of serotonin and so increase the level of serotonin in the synapse, where it continues to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron. the effect of this should be to reduce anxiety

Question 13

Evaluation of SSRIs

Answer 13

+ Soomro (2009) reviewed 17 studies that compared SSRIs to placebo drugs for treating OCD and found that all 17 studies showed that SSRI drugs were more effective than placebos, especially when SSRs were combined with CBT
+70% of patients have experienced a decline in OCD symptoms when taking SSRIs. remaining 30% of patients tend to opt for a combination of SSRIs and psychological therapies
-side effects which might mean that the OCD patients might stop taking the medication. side effects include indigestion, blurred vision and loss of sex drive

Question 14

What are benzodiazepines?

Answer 14

• anti anxiety drugs that treat ocd

- slow down the activity of cns by enhancing the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA.

Question 15

What is GABA

Answer 15

a neurotransmitter that has an inhibitory effect on neurone

Question 16

How does GABA work

Answer 16

reacts with special sites called GABA receptors on the outside of neurons.
when GABA locks into these receptors it opens a channel that increases the flow of chloride ions into the neuron.
chloride ions make it harder for the neuron to be stimulated by other neurotransmitters, which slows down neural activity and making a person feel more relaxed

Question 17

Evaluation of benzodiazepines

Answer 17

+BZ drugs can begin to reduce anxiety levels and OCD symptoms in a short period of time, especially compared to other treatments like CBT
-if BZ drugs are used long-term then several unwanted side effects (drowsiness, depression, unpredictable interactions with alcohol)
Ashton (1997) found that longterm users of BZ became very dependent on the drug and a sudden withdrawal of the drug leads to a return of high levels of anxiety and OCD symptoms.
tolerance whereby patients need to take larger and larger doses of the drug in order to reduce their OCD symptoms because their body gets used to the drug