For people who are at the risk of developing an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, thanks to their genes, a brain scan may now help detect the same, a new study has found. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD is an anxiety disorder, where a person is forced by irrational thoughts and fears, making him to repeat an action again and again.
It is evident in the form of repetitive behavior like washing one’s hands or cleaning the house repeatedly or checking on locks and doors time and again. OCD may be present in only 2-3% of the population, but for an individual it hampers one’s normal life and seems to run in families.
According to the study published in the latest edition of the journal Brain, the genes causing the OCD risk are unknown, but they appear to change the brain’s anatomy, therefore persons with OCD and their close ones have a distinct pattern in their brain structure, which may help in the diagnosis of the disorder.
With the help of magnetic resonance imaging, brains of approximately 100 people were scanned, which included those with OCD and some others who were close relatives of people suffering from OCD.
Participants underwent a computerized test of pressing a right or left key as quickly as possible when arrows appeared. The sounding of a beep indicated that the participants had to attempt to stop their responses. The goal of the exercise was to objectively measure the ability to stop repetitive behaviors.
While the control group did good in the computerized test, people with OCD and their close relatives fared real bad. This has been linked o the decrease in the grey matter in the orbitofrontal and right inferior frontal regions. These are the brain regions playing an important role in suppressing one’s responses and habits.
However impaired brain function, in the areas of the brain that are associated with suppressing motor responses are responsible for the main characteristic feature of OCD- compulsive and repetitive behaviour. These brain changes appear to be genetic and a risk factor for developing OCD. This knowledge of the hidden causes may help in better diagnosis, in order to improve clinical treatments as compared to only the subjective diagnosis of OCD as available with most psychiatrist today.
This may also help to identify other contributing factors to OCD apart from genes, because not all family members with similar brain structures develop this disorder. The study may only be like a drop of water in the ocean but has the ability to open up new avenues to study the larger cause of Obsessive Compulsive disorders.
