ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

What is “Abnormal Behaviour”?  Mental illnesses contribute to ALL abnormal behaviour.  Being “weird” is NOT abnormal  Abnormalities are classified as:  Irrational thoughts or actions  Inability to adjust  Consistent unhappiness

Mental illness Definition: “A disorderly functioning of the mind. Causes are identified as stress, psychological, biological, disease and genetics issues.”

(Old) Classification of Mental illness  Neurotic Disorder  Anxiety based  Examples: Phobias, OCD  Psychotic Disorder  Distortion of Reality  Example: Scizophrenia

(New) Classification of Mental illness  Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM)  Five categories/axis  Axis 1 – all mental illness except mental retardation and personality disorders (like OCD)  Axis 2 – Personality disorder and mental retardation  Axis 3 – General medical conditions causing disorders  Axis 4 – Psychosocial and Environmental disorders  Axis 5 – Global assessment of functioning

OCD

 You’ve seen the symptoms of OCD and the medication, but today we’ll focus on the factors that CAUSE OCD

Agenda  Learn the psychological, biological and genetic factors that contribute to OCD  Read and respond to an article of Scientific research

Psychological Factors – Behaviour Theory  suggests that people with OCD associate certain objects or situations with fear  they learn to avoid the things they fear or to perform rituals that help reduce the fear.

Psychological Factors – Cognitive Theory  focuses on how people with OCD misinterpret their thoughts  People have intrusive thoughts, but people with OCD severely misinterpret these thoughts

Biological Factors – Brain Chemistry  Serotonin – responsible for regulating mood, aggresion, sleep and impulse control  OCD is believed to be caused by a lack of serotonin

“Technically”

Biological Factors – Brain activity  Prefrontal cortex – located in the frontal cortex, responsible for social behaviour  Too much activity in that region is associated with social concerns. Such concerns include: neatness and preoccupied with cleanliness  Too little activity in the lateral orbital frontal cortex is associated with compulsive behaviour

Braaaaaaaaainssss

Mooooore Braaaaainnnsss

Genetic Factors  Research studies report that parents, siblings and children of a person with OCD have a greater chance of developing OCD than does someone with no family history of the disorder.

SCIENCE!

Article – Read and React Why is it important for researchers to look at the Biological, Genetic and Psychological components of OCD?  Answer in a 1 page response