Psychopathology: biological explanation to ocd

Question 1

What are the two types of biological explanations for ocd?

Answer 1

-genetics
-neural

Question 2

What does it mean by genetics as a biological explanation for ocd?

Answer 2

-ocd is partly inherited in genes
-polygenic (more than one gene is involved)

Question 3

What are some examples of genes for ocd?

Answer 3

-gene 9
-COMT

Question 4

Ocd is aitelogically heterogeneous, what does this mean?

Answer 4

-a group of genes that cause ocd in one person may not cause ocd in another person and it may require a different group of genes to cause ocd in them

Question 5

What supports the genetic explanation?

Answer 5

-supporting evidence:
.twin studies found a high concordance rate of 68% in MZ twins and 31% in DZ twins

Question 6

What doesn’t support the genetic explanation?

Answer 6

-too many candidate genes
-environmental factors (ocd can follow after trauma)

Question 7

What does it mean by neural as a biological explanation for ocd?

Answer 7

-an abnormal level of neurotransmitters can cause ocd
-eg: low levels of serotonin has effect on transmission of mood relevant information

Question 8

What have scans shown for the neural explanation?

Answer 8

-brain scans show abnormal functioning areas of the brain can correlate with ocd

Question 9

What is a strength to the neural explanation?

Answer 9

-led to effective treatment:
.antidepressants reduce ocd by increasing serotonin levels

Question 10

What is a negative to the neural explanation?

Answer 10

-correlation doesn’t mean causation
-low levels of serotonin may mean patients might have depression not necessarily ocd