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Our research will focus on the psychological effect of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) on the five percent of the human population affected. Our research will examine the many aspects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which are unknown to the human population such as the symptoms, causes, the start and duration of this illness, treatments that are available, illnesses commonly confused with OCD, the effect Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has on the patient, and the differences between OCD in adults and children. As a result of conducting this research we hope to define clearly the psychology and science behind Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is when some people who would normally conduct daily activities and rituals with no difficulty, begin to lose control of what once were normal routine actions. Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder feel that they cannot stop the intrusive behaviors and thoughts that occur, although they are aware of the unrationalism of their actions, they feel powerless against them.( http://www.ccspublishing.com )

According to the fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-IV) in order for a person to be classified as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder sufferer the patient must have either obsessions or compulsions that result from a significant amount of distress, they must have obsessions or compulsions that are relatively time consuming; or a nonfunctioning social life or relationship due to the symptoms occurring. (http://www.ccspublishing.com )

Approximately Five percent of the population is said to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The Epidemiologic Catchment Area study has demonstrated a six-month prevalence of about 1.5- percent and a lifetime prevalence of two to three percent. That means that in the United States, between five to seven million people suffer from OCD.(http://www.ccspublishing.com )

Symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are categorized primarily as obsessions or compulsions. According to DSM-IV, obsessions are reoccurring persistent thoughts or images that a person finds to be disturbing as well as intrusive and inappropriate. These thoughts or images are exaggerated fears and anxieties that have no basis in reality. (http://www.ocdhelp.org/faq.htm )

The cause of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder isn’t clearly defined at this time, but it is thought of as the brain remaining focused on a particular thought or urge and cannot release the thought or urge from their mind. Research suggests that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder involve communication problems within the front part of the brain, the orbital cortex, which controls the functions of the eyes and which also contains sensory neurons, and a deeper structure, the basal ganglia, which is located in the cerebral hemisphere and which relays commands that coordinates large muscle movements. (http://www.ocdhelp.org/faq.htm ) Theories of basal ganglia and frontal lobe dysfunction have been developed which would lead to possible tests that would support the hypothesis that a problem in the brain structures along with insufficient amounts of serotonin are the causes of OCD. (http://www.ocdhelp.org/faq.htm) Serotonin is a transmitter that is involved in many of the mechanisms of sleep and emotional arousal. In rare cases, research can suggest that a brain injury can be the cause of a dysfunction. (http://www.ccspublishing.com) Positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which can tell if a region of the brain is abnormally active or inactive, have found abnormalities in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia of OCD patients when compared with the PET scans of a depressed person with normal controls. An morphometric magnetic resonance (mMRI) has scanned the brains of ten OCD patients and ten normal people that were matched according to age, sex, etc. and the scan found that OCD patients have more gray matter and less white matter, suggesting a development problem.

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Another cause of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is inheritance. Although no specific genes for OCD have been found research suggests that genes do play a role in the development of the disorder.( http://www.ocdhelp.org/faq.htm ) Research is continuing to be conducted to pinpoint the exact inheritance gene that determines whether Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is present. Childhood Obsessive Compulsive Disorder tends to run in the family. When a parent has OCD there is a five- percent chance that the child would inherit and develop OCD. (http://www.ocdhelp.org/faq.htm)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can begin from the period of preschool, which is about the age of three, to adulthood, which is the age of forty. Although, only one-third to one-half of adults with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder report that it began during their childhood years.

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Two effective treatment techniques for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder have been developed; Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy (CBT) and medication with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI). A serotonin reuptake inhibitor is a medication issued that will help the transmitter molecules, that being the serotonin, to be, so to speak, vacuumed back into the presynaptic neuron. The presynaptic neuron, which is a nerve cell that, sends the neural messages to the rest of the brain.

The phase is when treatment is aimed at preventing episodes of Obsessive Compulsion Disorders from ever happening again in the future.(http://www.psychguides.com/eks_oche.htm )

Cognitive Therapy (CT) is another component of CBT. Cognitive Therapy is an approach to therapy that tries to change some of the habitual modes of thinking.(Third Edition: Psychology, Gleitman) CT is usually added to Behavior Therapy to reduce catastrophic thinking, such as if I don’t do something, something bad will happen to a loved one.(http://www.psychguides.com/eks_oche.htm )

CBT for children is similar to behavioral therapy for adults the component for CBT treatment for children with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a technique called exposure plus response prevention. The steps include developing a rank ordered list of all the child’s fears and rituals along with the situations in which these symptoms occur. The children are then persistently exposed to the situations starting with the least anxiety fear and working up to the most difficult. The children are encouraged to resist their urges to compulse. When exposures occur consecutively the child’s fears decreased through a process called autonomic habituation. Habituation is a process by which an individual slowly becomes accustomed to something over time. Repeated exposure to obsessions leads to a weakening and reduction in obsession and compulsive behaviors.( http://www.ocdhelp.org/newsletter/news97’s.htm1#personal )

Medications used to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRI’s). SRI’s increase the concentration of serotonin, a chemical messenger in the brain. There are five types of SRI’s:

Clomipramine is known to influence obsessive compulsive behaviors through it’s effects on serotonergic neural transmission. Clomipramine can be given as a dosage of one capsule per day for seventy days, each capsule has 25mg. ( http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/clomipr.htm ) Fluoxetine is linked to the inhibition of the Central Nervous System neural uptake of serotonin. < /FONT>(http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/fluoxetine_cp.htm ) Fluvoxamine is used to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by inhibiting the neural uptake of serotonin. The suggested dosage for Fluvoxamine is a fiftymg tablet, one per day for seventy days. (http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/fluvox.htm ) Paroxetine is said to be linked to potentiation of serotonergic activity in the Central Nervous System which is a result from inhibiting the neural reuptake. (http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/parox_cp.htm ) Sertraline is also linked to inhibition of the Central Nervous System neural uptake. (http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/sertral_cp.htm) Fluoxetine, Fluvoxamine, Paroxetine, and Sertraline are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI’s, because they initially effect only serotonin levels. (http://www.psychguides.com/eks_oche.htm )