Lesson 12 - Biological causes of OCD Flashcards

1
Q

What are the genetic causes of OCD?

A
  • The COMT gene
  • The SERT gene
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2
Q

The COMT gene

A
  • a candidate gene for OCD
  • results in high dopamine (high levels of drive, motivation and aggression)
  • more common in those with OCD than those without.
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3
Q

The SERT gene

A
  • results in low serotonin levels, which is associated with low levels of happiness.
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4
Q

Neuroanatomy by Jenike and Rauch

A
  • Found a relationship between brain damage and OCD
  • The brain damage could be caused by a virus
  • the damage could effect the short term memory (“I can’t remember if i locked the front door.” Results in compulsions
  • From PET scans, it shows that when an OCD patient is exposed to something dirty, the frontal lobes and basal ganglia may be overactive.
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5
Q

The basal ganglia

A
  • responsible for voluntary motor movements, habit learning, eye movements, and over activity could result to repetitive motor functions. Common in Tourette’s.
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6
Q

Neurotransmitters

A
  • Low serotonin results in can cause depressive like symptoms
  • Low levels can cause the caudate nucleus to malfunction
  • High levels of dopamine can be linked to overactivity in the basal ganglia
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7
Q

Rapoport (1990)

A
  • supports the neural explanation
  • He reviewed the “Great Sleeping Sickness” of 1916-1918, and found a viral brain infections across Europe at the time.
  • there was a rise on OCD symptoms as a result
  • supports the link between brain damage and OCD
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8
Q

Weaknesses of the neural explanation

A
  • neurotransmitters may be the effect of OCD and not the cause
  • levels of dopamine as a cause can be argued, as it can also cause other mental illnesses like schizophrenia. Not enough evidence to support it
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9
Q

Ciccerone (2000)

A
  • when patients were given the drug Risperidone, it resulted in lower dopamine levels and alleviated OCD symptoms
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