OCD risk factors

Individuals with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) may be genetically vulnerable to the impact of environmental factors that may trigger modification of the expression of glutamate-, serotonin- and dopamine-system-related genes through epigenetic mechanisms. In turn, neuroanatomical expression of these modifications results in an OCD-specific imbalance between the direct and indirect loops of the cortico–striato–thalamo–cortical (CSTC) circuit. Aberrant activation along the CSTC loop is associated with phenotypic presentation of OCD phenomenology. Although OCD is clinically heterogeneous, it is generally and universally characterized by obsessive concerns about threats or danger and subsequent engagement in rituals to neutralize the threats and/or distress that accompany obsessions. This negative reinforcement cycle, when left untreated, perpetuates OCD psychopathology | Pauls DL, Abramovitch A, Rauch SL, Geller DA. Obsessive–compulsive disorder: an integrative genetic and neurobiological perspective. Nat Rev Neurosci [Internet]. 2014 May 20 [cited 2017 Mar 24];15(6):410–24. Available from: http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/nrn3746