Browse > Home / Mental / Brain flaw causes OCD

Brain flaw causes OCD

Finally, the brain flaw that causes obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has been discovered — a finding that “could lead to new treatment for it”. Scientists from the Brain Mapping Unit at University of Cambridge in Britain have carried out a study and found the changes by tracking the effects of the gene that causes the condition on brain structure, The Times reported here today. According to lead researcher Lara Menzies, “Impaired brain function in the areas of the brain associated with stopping motor responses may contribute to the compulsive and repetitive behaviours that are characteristic of OCD. These brain changes appear to run in families and may represent a genetic risk factor for developing the condition. The current diagnosis of OCD is subjective and therefore the knowledge of underlying causes may lead to better diagnosis and ultimately improved treatments.”


The team used magnetic resonance to scan the brains of 31 OCD patients, comparing them with 31 first-degree relations who were unaffected by OCD — sisters, brothers, parents, and children — and 31 unrelated healthy people. The volunteers also completed computerised tests that are designed to assess their ability, once they had become established in a pattern of repetitive behaviours, to stop performing them. Both the OCD patients and their close relations did worse on the computer task than the control group, they found. When the performance on this test was compared with MRI scans, it was found that performing poorly was associated with decreases of grey matter in brain regions important in suppressing responses and habits. The results of the study have been published in the latest issue of the Brain journal.

Written by James · Filed Under Mental 

Related Articles: