Bio Approach To Explaining OCD Flashcards
(27 cards)
What is OCD a good example of?
A condition that may be largely understood as biological in nature.
What is one form of the biological explanation of OCD?
The genetic explanation.
What are genes involved in?
Individual vulnerability to OCD.
What did Lewis observe about OCD in patients?
- 37% had parents with OCD.
- 21% had sibling with OCD.
What does Lewis’s findings suggest?
That OCD runs in the family.
What do certain genes make some people according to the diathesis-stress model?
Leave some people more likely to develop a mental disorder but this isn’t certain..
What is necessary trigger the condition?
Some environmental stress.
What are the genes called which create vulnerability for OCD?
Candidate genes.
What are some candidate genes involved in?
Regulating the development of the serotonin system e.g. gene gHT1-D beta is implicated in the transport of serotonin across synapses.
What does it mean that OCD is polygenic?
OCD is cause by a combo of genetic variations that together significantly increase vulnerability.
What did Taylor analyse and find?
Analysed findings of previous studies and found evidence that up to 230 different genes may be involved in OCD.
What genes have been studied in relation to OCD and what are they associated with?
Associated with the action of dopamine and serotonin - both neurotransmitters believed to have a role in regulating mood.
What does aetiologically heterogeneous mean?
That the origin of OCD vary from one person to another.
What is there evidence to suggest about different types of OCD?
That they may be the result of particular genetic variations such as hoarding disorder and religious obsession.
Evaluation: Environmental risk factors play a role
Some psychologists found that over half of OCD patients in their sample had experienced a traumatic event. This suggests OCD can’t be purely explained by genes.
Evidence: strong supporting evidence from twin studies
Some psychologists found OCD is more common among first-degree relatives and that concordance rates are higher in MZ twins than in DZ twins suggesting a genetic component
What are genes associated with OCD likely to affect?
Levels of key neurotransmitters as well as structures of the brain.
What does one explanation of OCD concern?
The role of serotonin.
What is serotonin believed to help?
Regulate mood.
What are neurotransmitters responsible for?
Relaying info from one neuron to another.
If a person has low levels of serotonin then what doesn’t take place?
Normal transmissions of mood relevant info and a person may experience low moods.
How can some cases of OCD be explained?
By a reduction in the functioning of the serotonin system in the brain.
What do some cases of OCD seem to be associated with?
Impaired decision making - may be associated with abnormal functioning of the lateral of the frontal lobes of the brain.
What are the frontal lobes?
The front part of the brain responsible for logical thinking and making decisions.
