Task 4 - OCD

Question 1

Obsessions

Definition

Answer 1

Persistent, intrusive thoughts, images or urges causing significant anxiety or distress

Question 2

Compulsion

Definition

Answer 2

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed to alleviate anxiety, often seen as irrational by the individual

Question 3

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Definition

Answer 3

Is diagnosed when either obsessions, compulsions, or both are present to
a significant degree

Question 4

DSM-5 Criteria for OCD

Answer 4

A. Obsessions, compulsions or both
B. The obsessions or compulsions are time-consuming or cause impairment in other areas
C. Symptoms not attributable for other condition or substances
D. Not better explained by another mental disorder

Question 5

Comorbid disorders of OCD

Answer 5

Linked with depression in about 66% of cases; often associated with panic attacks, phobias, and substance
abuse

Question 6

Hoarding disorder

Definition

Answer 6

Persistent difficulty discarding possessions due to perceived emotional attachment, resulting in excessive accumulation and clutter that impairs daily functioning (Prevalence: 2.5%)

Question 7

Hair-pulling disorder/Trichotillomania

Definition

Answer 7

Recurrent pulling out of one’s hair, leading to noticeable hair loss, often
as a response to tension or with the sense of relief or pleasure afterward

Question 8

Skin-Picking Disorder

Definition

Answer 8

Recurrent picking at scabs, lesions, or skin, resulting in significant tissue damage, often driven by tension or followed by a sense of relief

Question 9

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Definition

Answer 9

Excessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in physical appearance, leading to
compulsive behaviors (checking, grooming) or seeking cosmetic alterations despite minimal or nonexistent defects perceived by others

Question 10

Brain Circuit Involvement in OCD

Answer 10

• The biological theories emphasize a specific brain circuit comprising the frontal cortex, basal ganglia,
  thalamus, and their interconnections
• Dysfunction in this brain circuit may lead to the system’s inability to suppress primitive urges or control stereotyped behaviors

Question 11

Role of Serotonin in OCD

Answer 11

• Medications regulating serotonin provide relief for individuals with OCD and related disorders
• Patients responding positively to serotonin-enhancing drugs show decreased brain activity in associated
  brain regions.

Question 12

Role of Cognitive factors in OCD

Answer 12

• Chronic Anxiety or Depression: Minor negative events trigger intrusive thoughts due to chronic anxiety or depression.
• Rigid, Moralistic Thinking: They judge these thoughts as more unacceptable and feel more anxious
  and guilty
• Beliefs about Thought Control: They believe they should control all their thoughts and struggle to accept that such thoughts are normal

Question 13

Thought-action fusion

Definition

Answer 13

Involves the belief that merely thinking about something specific is morally equivalent to actually engaging in that action or that thinking about an event increases the likelihood of it happening

Question 14

Mental contamination

Definition

Answer 14

Feeling like you have been contaminated even though there has been no physical contact
(e.g. pictures or videos). Linked to feeling violated by for example abuse.

Question 15

Role of conditioning in OCD

Answer 15

• Compulsions develop as a response to anxiety-provoking obsessions; engaging in
  certain behaviors reduces anxiety, reinforcing these behaviors negatively.
• Each time compulsive behaviors reduce anxiety from obsessions, they are reinforced, contributing to the cycle of OCD

Question 16

Mood-as-input hypothesis

Definition

Answer 16

When acting out compulsions people might judge the “quality of their work” based on how they feel after.
e.g. When washing your hands and after it doesn’t feel right you feel like you have to do it again

Question 17

Inhibitory learning model of OCD

Concept

Answer 17

The original CS-US association learned during fear conditioning is not erased during extinction, but rather a new, secondary inhibitory learning about CS-US develops (i.e. that the CS no longer predicts the US)

Question 18

Expectancy violation

Strategies for enhancing inhibitory learning

Answer 18

Design exposure to violate specific expectations

Question 19

Deepened extinction

Strategies for enhancing inhibitory learning

Answer 19

Present two cues during the same exposure after conducting initial extinction with at least one of them

Question 20

Reinforced extinction

Strategies for enhancing inhibitory learning

Answer 20

Occasionally present the US during exposures

Question 21

Variability

Strategies for enhancing inhibitory learning

Answer 21

Vary stimuli and contexts

Question 22

Remove safety behaviors

Strategies for enhancing inhibitory learning

Answer 22

Decrease the use of safety signals and behaviors

Question 23

Attentional focus

Strategies for enhancing inhibitory learning

Answer 23

Maintain attention on the target CS during exposure

Question 24

Affect labeling

Strategies for enhancing inhibitory learning

Answer 24

Encourage clients to describe their emotional experience during exposure

Question 25

Mental reinstatement/retrieval cues

Strategies for enhancing inhibitory learning

Answer 25

Use a cue present during extinction or imaginally reinstate previous successful exposures

Question 26

Radomsky et al.: Effect of repeated checking on memory distrust

Answer 26

• The study aimed to investigate the effects of repeated checking on memory distrust in individuals with OCD
• Showed that repeated relevant checking led to a significant decline in memory confidence, vividness, and detail compared to pre-test scores and compared to the irrelevant checking group.
• However, there was no significant difference in memory accuracy between the two groups.