Psychopathology 4: OCD Flashcards by George Hargreaves

Three questions could be asked on OCD, what are these?

-Characteristics
-Biological explanations
-Biological treatment

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What type of disorder is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

An anxiety disorder

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What does OCD involve?

Frequent intrusive and unwelcome obsessional thoughts, often followed by repetitive compulsions, impulses or urges.

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What three symptoms does OCD have?

-Behavioural
-Emotional
-Cognitive

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What are two behavioural symptoms of OCD?

-Compulsions (repetitive and reduce anxiety)
-Avoidance

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What are three emotional symptoms of OCD?

-Anxiety and distress
-Comorbid depression
-Guilt and disgust

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What are three cognitive symptoms of OCD?

-Obsessive thoughts
-Cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions
-Selective attention

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What is the overall assumption of the biological approach on the cause of OCD?

It is a physical/bodily problem

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What are the two main biological explanations in the spec?

-Genetic explanations
-Neural explanations

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What are the two neural explanations of OCD?

-Neurotransmitters
-Brain structure

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What are neurotransmitters?

Chemicals that transmit electrical messages from one nerve cell in the brain to another

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What does the biological explanation of neurotransmitters suggest?

OCD is caused by imbalances in these neurotransmitters within the brain

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OCD has been linked to low levels of which neurotransmitter?

Serotonin

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How has OCD been linked with low levels of serotonin?

Because anti-depressants that increase serotonin actually decreases symptoms of OCD

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What does structure of the brain suggest about OCD?

Tha OCD is caused by problems with the structure of the brain

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Which areas of the brain are thought to be abnormal with people with OCD?

Several areas of the frontal lobes

PET scans show that a person with OCD has…

High levels of activity in the orbital frontal cortex (OFC)

What action is the Orbital Frontal Cortex (OFC) linked with?

Carrying out an activity due to an impulse

What does over activity in the OFC mean for those with OCD?

That even once they carry out the activity the impulse to do so doesn’t go away

What has genetic research suggested about OCD?

That some people may be at risk of genetically developing OCD, it can be inherited

How do we test the link of genetics with OCD?

We look at twin studies

What percentage of genes do Monozygotic (MZ) twins share?

100%

What percentage of genes do Dizygotic (DZ) twins share?

50%

What did Carey and Gottesman (1981) find about twin studies?

That MZ twins have concordance rates of 87% for OCD and DZ twins have 47%

Genes have been identified that mean that people are more likely to suffer from OCD, what are these called?

Candidate genes

What is a candidate gene that we use in the spec?

The SERT gene

What does the SERT gene affect?

The transport of serotonin

What has been found in relation to the SERT gene in OCD sufferers?

The SERT gene is mutated which creates lower levels of serotonin

What are the evaluations of the biological/neural approach to OCD?

😍There is evidence to support genetic - Billett (1988) 😞The research into genetics as an explanation for OCD suggest that there is some kind of connection, but not 100% concordance 😞There are issues with determining causality 😞Not everyone with OCD responds to drugs 😍Evidence to support neural- NIMH study 😍It's scientific

What did the NIMH study find to support the neural approach to OCD?

National Institue for Mental Health (NIMH) found that OCD patients had mutations to the SERT gene, causing low levels of serotonin

How does drug therapy work for OCD patients?

By altering the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain

What do drugs in therapy aim to do?

Increase the levels of serotonin in patients

What is the name of a drug used to increase serotonin in OCD patients?

SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor)

What is an example of an SSRI?

Prozac

How do SSRIs work?

They increase the amount of serotonin by blocking the re-uptake pump in the synapse. Allowing more serotonin to attach to the receptors as it is not being taken away by the pump

What are the 5 evaluations of drug therapy for OCD?

😍Drugs are quick/easy 😍Evidence proves it's effective - Soomro (2009) 😞Possible side effects 😞Treat symptoms not cause 😞Not long lasting treatment

What was found in the study to prove drug treatment effectiveness - Soomro (2009)?

Compared patients treated with SSRIs and a placebo, found that in all studies the SSRI were more effective