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year 1 Psychology > psychopathology-OCD > Flashcards

psychopathology-OCD Flashcards

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1
Q

what 3 symptoms is OCD characterised by

A

obsessions which lead to
guilt and anxiety which lead to
compulsions

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2
Q

what are obsessions and what do they lead to

A

disturbing recurrent thoughts which are not based on reality
they lead to guilt and anxiety

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3
Q

what are compulsions

A

repetitive behaviours that people feel an urge to do in order to reduce the feelings of guilt and anxiety

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4
Q

what is the behavioural characteristic of OCD

A

compulsions
a
they are external

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5
Q

what is the emotional characteristic of OCD

A

guilt and anxiety which may lead to depression

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6
Q

what is the cognitive characteristic of OCD

A

obsessions they may adopt cognitive strategies to deal with their obsessions
they are internal

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7
Q

what does the genetic explanation of OCD suggest

A

that we inherit OCD specific alleles on certain genes increase a persons risk of developing OCD.

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8
Q

what 2 genes affect OCD

A

-COMT
-SERT
OCD is polygenic

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9
Q

how does the COMT gene affect OCD

A

Lower activity of the COMT gene causes higher levels of dopamine

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10
Q

how does the SERT gene affect OCD

A

causes lower serotonin

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11
Q

how does the SERT gene cause lower serotonin

A

produces reuptake proteins that carry serotonin back into the pre-synaptic neuron so less is available at the synapse
-long allele produces more reuptake protein so less serotonin is available at the synapse so decreases inhibition of neural activity in post-synaptic neuron- so associated with OCD

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12
Q

what are the 2 pieces of supporting evidence for the genetic explanation of OCD

A

-Lewis
-Nestadt

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13
Q

what did Lewis find

A

examined patients with OCD
37% had parents with OCD
21% had siblings with OCD

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14
Q

what did Nestadt find

A

reviewed twin studies and found that
68% MZ twins shared OCD compared to 31% of DZ twins
big difference in concordance rates shows OCD is partially inherited

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15
Q

what are the limitations of twin studies

A

-assumes MZ and DZ twins have the same amount of shared environment -however MZ twins are more likely to be treated the same (as they look the same) than DZ twins
High concordance rate for OCD in MZ twins might be caused by shared environmental factors

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16
Q

what are some useful applications of the genetic explanation of OCD

A

led to the development of drug treatment as you can target the effect genes have on neural activity
It also helps support the biological explanation if OCD symptoms are reduced with SSRIs

17
Q

who found supporting evidence for the use of drug treatments

A

soomro carried out a meta-analysis of 17 studies and found 70% of patients found an improvement with symptoms with SSRIs

18
Q

what is an alternative explanation

A

the diathesis stress model-we have a genetic vulnerability which is switched on by a traumatic life event this explains why we don’t see 100% of people with the genetic default developing OCD

19
Q

describe the neural explanation of OCD

A

Orbitofrontal cortex-detects a worrying stimulus and decides on an action
Sends this signal to motor cortex-controls movement
Basal ganglia-monitors outcome of actions sends inhibitory signals to orbitofrontal cortex to shut down worry signals
HOWEVER people with OCD have impaired communication between basal ganglia and orbitofrontal cortex

20
Q

describe the signals from the basal ganglia to orbitofrontal cortex

A

Signals from basal ganglia to orbitofrontal cortex are much weaker so orbitofrontal cortex is less inhibited than it should be and neurons become hyperactive-generates OCD symptoms
Also when these signals are sent this leads to serotonin being released in the orbitofrontal cortex and neural activity is inhibited
HOWEVER people with OCD have lower serotonin levels so less inhibition of orbitofrontal neurons causing the neurons to become hyperactive

21
Q

what is some supporting evidence for the neural explanation of OCD

A

-Max
-Saxena and Rauch
-Hu

22
Q

what did Max find

A

studied a girl who had OCD after brain damage. Conducted an MRI and found she had damage to her basal ganglia
Suggests structural damage to the basal ganglia can cause OCD

23
Q

what did Saxena and Rauch find

A

reviewed brain imaging studies comparing adults with and without OCD. They found an increase in activity in the orbitofrontal cortex with those with OCD suggesting hyperactivity in the OFC causes OCD

24
Q

what did Hu find

A

compared OCD and non-OCD and found lower levels of serotonin in the OCD suffers showing low serotonin is associated with the onset of the disease.

25
Q

why is this research correlational and not causation

A

-evidence to suggest OCD pateints have abnormal levels of Neurotransmitters are abnormal brain structure but this does not mean that this is what causes ocd so we cannot draw cause and effect conclusions.

26
Q

What is an alternative explanation for OCD

A

The two process model
We can acquire ocd through classical conditioning eg pairing the dirt with anxiety
We can maintain ocd through operant conditioning
through negative reinforcement stimulus is avoided so anxiety is reduced

27
Q

who found limitations for the neural explanation of OCD

A

Aylward-Found no difference between the basal ganglia of those with and without OCD. Structural damage to the basal ganglia and hyperactivity in the OFC may not be the only causes

28
Q

state 2 drugs used to treat ocd

A

SSRIs
tricyclics

29
Q

Explain how SSRIs work

A

block serotonin reuptake. More serotonin available at the synapse in the orbitofrontal cortex so more inhibition of neural activity In the orbitofrontal cortex reducing hyperactivity of neurons in this region which reduces worry signals that cause obsessions and compulsions

30
Q

Explain how tricyclics work

A

Tricyclics block the transporter mechanism that reabsorbs both serotonin and noradrenaline so more is available at the synapse

31
Q

State two pieces of supporting evidence for the biological treatment of OCD

A

-Soomro-70% of the adults with OCD who were treated with SSRIs noticed an improvement in symptoms
SSRIs are significantly more effective at reducing OCD symptoms than no treatment

-cost-effective compared to CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy)

32
Q

What are the limitations for the biological treatment of O C D

A

-Can cause side-effects
Soomro-found that patients treated with SSRIs experienced side effects eg-nausea

-if patients stop taking SSRIs they may relapse and symptoms may return

-may not be effective at treating the underlying cause of OCD
Eg-may not treat cognitive factors so may need to combine CBT with SSRIs

O’Connor-combing biological and cognitive treatment for OCD could be more effective

CBT and SSRIs showed the biggest improvement

year 1 Psychology (47 decks)

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