Obsessive-compulsive disorder now seen with brain scan

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by William Atkins

Monday, 21 July 2008

Page 1 of 3 ! British researchers at Cambridge University have used brain scans, for the first time, to see differences in the brains of OCD patients when compared to the brains of people without the psychological brain disorder. Such brain scans could one day help to earlier and more accurately diagnosis obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans. Related stories Warning: DNS flaw spills over to OpenID Omega-3 doubly good for female brain power, but omega-6 makes girls dimmer Science shows some people can't get over loss of loved ones Brainwash kids into learning, with games Scans show biology may determine gay/straight brain British psychiatrist Samuel R. Chamberlain (Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge), who led the study, said: "Impaired function in brain areas controlling flexible behaviour probably predisposes people to developing the compulsive rigid symptoms that are characteristic of OCD.” [BBC News: “Scan detects obsessive disorder”] The abstract to their paper states, “Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by repetitive thoughts and behaviors associated with underlying dysregulation of frontostriatal circuitry. Central to neurobiological models of OCD is the orbitofrontal cortex, a neural region that facilitates behavioral flexibility after negative feedback (reversal learning).” Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neuro-psychiatric anxiety disorder that is often identified by obsessive, unpleasant, repetitive, intrusive, or distressing thoughts that are very difficult to control and other related compulsions (or “rituals”) that are used to try to nullify the obsession. Unlike normal habits , these rituals consume large amount of time as the person tries to control (usually unsuccessfully) their compulsive thoughts. For instance, a person may think their hands are contaminated with germs (the “distressing thought”) so attempt to remove the contamination with repeated hand-washings (the “ritual”). Other rituals could be such actions as repeatedly checking locks or repeating a phrase over and over again for some perceived purpose. The OCD person may also have irrational thoughts related to being meticulous in actions (a “perfectionist”) or in being fixated on something or someone, although the obsessive-compulsive disorder person can also have a condition relating to an anal-retentive character or other such personality disorder. OCD is thought to affect about one percent of children and adolescents. About two to three percent of adults are thought to have OCD at some time in their lives. The researchers at Cambridge University used a brain scan called a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan, a specialized type of MRI scan, to display real-time brain activity. An fMRI scan measures dynamic blood flow (what is medically called haemodynamic response) to neural activity in the brain in order to actually visualize what happens in the brain as it responds to actions and thoughts of a person. Please turn the page for specifics on the study and how "behavioral flexibility" is crucial in diagnosing OCD. << First page <   1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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