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Clinical Psychology and Mental Health

Biological approach to explaining and treating OCD

  • 5 things to know
  • Paper 2

Overview

Genetic and neural explanations for obsessive-compulsive disorder, how drug therapy reduces symptoms, and the evaluation of that treatment.

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Key term

How does the genetic explanation account for OCD?

Process

How do neural explanations account for OCD?

Process

How does drug therapy reduce the symptoms of OCD?

Evaluation

Evaluate drug therapy as a treatment for OCD.

Evaluation

What weakens the biological explanations of OCD?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is the central claim of the genetic explanation for OCD?

    Model answer

    OCD is inherited through genes passed from parents to offspring.

  2. 2

    What do family studies reveal about the risk of OCD among first-degree relatives of OCD patients?

    Model answer

    First-degree relatives of OCD patients have a significantly higher risk of developing OCD compared to the general population.

  3. 3

    How do twin studies support the genetic explanation for OCD?

    Model answer

    Twin studies show higher concordance rates for OCD in monozygotic (identical) twins compared to dizygotic (non-identical) twins.

  4. 4

    What does it mean to say that OCD is polygenic?

    Model answer

    Multiple genes are involved in OCD rather than a single gene.

  5. 5

    Why has the COMT gene been implicated in OCD?

    Model answer

    The COMT gene regulates the production of dopamine.

  6. 6

    What role does the SERT gene play in relation to OCD?

    Model answer

    The SERT gene (serotonin transporter gene) affects serotonin levels in the brain and has been associated with OCD.

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