Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent mental disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and ensuing rituals (compulsions). Although OC patients exhibit various cognitive and behavioral problems, rigid and hypersensitive moral judgments are known to be one of the most striking problems in these patients. There is evidence indicating that OC patients often tend to make deontological judgments in moral dilemmas, significantly more than the healthy population. Therefore, numerous studies are dedicated to understanding the underlying cognitive processes responsible for such variation of moral judgments in OCD, which are reviewed and discussed in the current paper. First, it is previously discussed that abnormal moral judgments in OCD are due to executive dysfunctions. These dysfunctions include impaired cognitive control resulting in the domination of strong, uncontrolled emotional responses, impaired cognitive flexibility resulting in the inability to switch between aspects of a scenario, and decreased capacity and overload of working memory and its inability to resist the interfering information. The dual-process theory also emphasizes and acknowledges the role of executive functions in moral judgments. Second, it is thought that disobeying moral norms results in the abnormal feeling of deontological guilt in OC patients, to which these patients are highly sensitive. Feeling of guilt is also thought to be correlated with OCD symptomatology. The third impairment contributing to abnormal moral judgments in OCD is known to be the abnormal feeling of disgust for moral violations and immoral unwanted intrusive thoughts, which is regarded as one of the major causes of OCD symptoms. Finally, the abnormal fear of responsibility and being criticized due to not acting morally is regarded as one of the primary impairments contributing to the abnormal moral judgments in OCD. In conclusion, this review sheds light on the most striking cognitive and affective impairments contributing to abnormal moral judgments in OCD.

IntroductionCOVID-19 is a novel, severely contagious and progressive infection occurring worldwide. The diagnosis of the disease is based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and computed tomography (CT) scan, even though they are still controversial methods.Material and methodsWe studied 54 patients with suspected COVID-19 and the two mentioned methods were compared with each other.ResultsSensitivity and specificity of the abnormal chest CT scan, ground-glass opacity (GGO), consolidation opacity, and both of GGO and consolidation were also surveyed based on RT-PCR. The results showed that RT-PCR assay was negative in 23 (42.6%) patients and positive in 31 (57.4%) cases. Also, the patients with an abnormal chest CT scan comprised 37 (68.5%). The sensitivity and specificity of abnormal CT scan were 78.6% and 42.3%, respectively, based on the RT-PCR method.ConclusionsOther techniques alongside CT scan and RT-PCR are advocated for accuracy of the COVID-19 diagnosis.

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Background Frontotemporal disorders (FTD) are the consequence of impairment to neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Also, no definitive treatment has been found for FTD. Cannabinoid products can be used to manage treatment-resistant behavioral variants of Frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Case presentation We describe the case of 34 years old male with two years of marijuana abuse. At first, he presented with symptoms of apathy and bizarre behavior, which became more severe, and led to disinhibition. The clinical symptoms and imaging findings made FTD probable for him, which was very interesting to report. Conclusions While cannabis has demonstrated potential in managing behavioral and mental symptoms of dementia, the presented case highlights the profound impact of cannabis consumption on brain structure and chemistry, including the potential for neurodegenerative disorders like FTD.