Obsessive-compulsive disorder causes
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [5] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sonya Gelfand Abhishek Reddy
Overview
It is generally agreed that neurotransmitters, biological, psychological, and environmental factors all play a probable role in causing obsessive–compulsive disorder.
Causes
Behavioral
- Learning theorists believe that compulsions may be responses to anxiety or discomfort of an individual. Specifically, compulsions are believed to be responses that help an individual prevent or reduce anxiety and discomfort associated with a particular obsession or urge.[1]
- Some theorists also believe that obsessive and compulsive behaviors are developed as a result of the misinterpretation of intrusive thoughts. People with OCD misinterpret these intrusive thoughts as being important, personally significant, or having disastrous consequences, and consequently engage in compulsive behavior to combat, resist or neutralize the distress that these thoughts present.[1]
Psychological
- Throughout evolution, different species have grown to safeguard themselves by gathering or hoarding food and constantly checking for possible threats around them. These evolutionary traits being passed on throughout many generations may prove to be a psychological cause of OCD.[2]
Biological
- Abnormalities with the neurotransmitter serotonin have been linked to OCD. It is hypothesized that the OCD sufferers may have relatively understimulated serotonin receptors. This suggestion is supported by the observation that many OCD patients benefit from the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of antidepressant medications that allow for more serotonin to be available to the serotonin receptors.[3]
- A mutation has been found in the human serotonin transportergene, hSERT, in unrelated families with OCD.[5]
- People with OCD had increased regional grey matter volumes in bilateral lenticular nuclei, extending to the caudate nuclei, as well as decreased volumes in bilateral dorsal medial frontal/anterior cingulate gyri.[6]
- Rapid onset of OCD in children and adolescents may be caused by a syndrome connected to Group A streptococcal infections (PANDAS)or caused by immunologic reactions to other pathogens (PANS). [7]
Neurotransmitters role
- Brain scans of people with OCD suggests different pattern of brain activity than in people without OCD. The scans also show different functioning of circuitry in the striatum. [8]
- Unusual dopamine and serotonin activity has been found in various regions of the brain in individuals with OCD which can be defined as dopaminergic hyperfunction in the prefrontal cortex and serotonergic hypofunction in the basal ganglia.[9]
Stress
- Stress does not cause OCD, however a stressful event may trigger its onset. Anxiety and stress in one’s life will significantly worsen symptoms of OCD if the OCD is left untreated. Problems at school or work along with problems in everyday relationships could all contribute to increasing the frequency and severity of a person’s OCD.
[10] Trauma
- Researchers claim that people who have suffered physical or sexual trauma are at an increased risk for OCD.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maia TV, Cooney RE, Peterson BS (2008). "The neural bases of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adults". Dev Psychopathol. 20 (4): 1251–83. doi:10.1017/S0954579408000606. PMC 3079445. PMID 18838041.
- ↑ Bracha, H. (2006). "Human brain evolution and the "Neuroevolutionary Time-depth Principle:" Implications for the Reclassification of fear-circuitry-related traits in DSM-V and for studying resilience to warzone-related posttraumatic stress disorder". Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 30 (5): 827–853. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.01.008. PMID 16563589.
- ↑ BBC Science and Nature: Human Body and Mind. Causes of OCD. [1]
- ↑ Abramowitz, Jonathan; et al, Steven; McKay, Dean (2009). "Obsessive-compulsive disorder". The Lancet 374 (9688): 491–9. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.108.055046. PMID 19880927.
- ↑ Ozaki, N., D Goldman, W. H., Plotnicov, K., Greenberg, B. D., J Lappalainen, G. R., & Murphy, D. L. (2003). Serotonin transporter missense mutation associated with a complex neuropsychiatric phenotype. Molecular Psychiatry, Volume 8, 933-936. [2]
- ↑ PMID 19880927 [3]
- ↑ "PANDAS studies are no longer recruiting patients".[4] Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Mental Health, Pediatrics and Developmental Neuroscience Branch. 24 February 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
- ↑ "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - Cause". 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ↑ "New approach to obsessive-compulsive disorder: dopaminergic theories"
- ↑ What causes OCD
- ↑ Abramowitz JS, Taylor S, McKay D (2009). "Obsessive-compulsive disorder". Lancet. 374 (9688): 491–9. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60240-3. PMID 19665647.