OCD Flashcards
what are behavioural characteristics of OCD?
- compulsions- are responses to obsessive thoughts, they are actions that are carried out repeatedly like handwashing. they are rigid repetitive rituals aimed at reducing anxiety
- avoidance- the OCD is managed by avoiding situations that trigger anxiety.
what are emotional characteristics of OCD?
- anxiety and distress- obsessive thoughts often unpleasant and overwhelming.
- guilt and disgust.
- co-morbid with depression
what are cognitive characteristics of OCD?
obsessive and intrusive thoughts are repetitive unpleasant thoughts, images or impulses that invade consciousness. about 90% of OCD sufferers have obsessive thoughts.
the person is also aware that there obsessive and intrusive thoughts are irrational and may attempt to supress them with another thought. they are hyper-vigilant of their obsession.
what is the serotonin hypothesis?
serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the synapse which is linked to mood, it can cause OCD and we know this as when we take SSRIs such as Prozac it will increase serotonin levels and then reduces symptoms of OCD.
what is decision making in the frontal lobe linked to in OCD?
Saxena and Raunch found that some OCD cases are linked to impaired decision making, this is associated with abnormal functioning of the frontal cortex and symptoms of OCD as frontal lobe responsible for logical thinking and decision making.
what did Henning-Fast find about the left Parahippocampul gyrus and OCD?
that there is increased activity and abnormal functioning in the left-parahippocampul gyrus when experiecing unpleasant emotions such as shame and guilt in patients with OCD.
what is evidence for neural explanations of OCD?
Antidepressants that work purely on increasing serotonin are effective in reducing OCD symptoms and this suggests that serotonin hypothesis to OCD. there are also OCD symptoms form part of biological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. this suggests that biological processes that cause the symptoms in those conditions may also be responsible for OCD.
what is a limitation of serotonin-OCD link?
many people who suffer from OCD become depressed due to a co-morbidity with depression. this depression may involve a lack of serotonin. this leaves an idea that it could simply be that the disruption to the serotonin system is disrupted as many patients with ocd are co-morbid to depression.
1/3 patients do not respond to SSRIS
