Hoping for more: How cognitive science has and hasn't been helpful to the OCD clinician

Modeling a multidimensional model of memory performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A multilevel meta-analytic review.

“…In the future, if more studies employ emotionally relevant or ecologically valid stimuli, then a subsequent meta-analysis comparing them to traditional stimuli (e.g., RCFT) in the context of the EBL taxonomy would be informative. Doing so would help close the gap between empirical research and clinical practice, as identified in the aptly titled article of Ouimet et al (2019): “Hoping for more: How cognitive science has and hasn’t been helpful to the OCD clinician.” For example, we identified executive function and visual memory as key areas of impairment in OCD across a range of different tasks and participants. This suggests that cognitive retraining of executive function in the visual domain may boost the effectiveness of commonly used interventions (i.e., exposure and response prevention).…”

“…In contrast, our findings with respect to memory load were contrary to our expectations; i.e., increases in load lead to better memory performance in the OCD group, although this effect was, as with binding complexity, relatively small. To explain this, we highlight a critique of cognitive research in OCD by Ouimet, Ashbaugh and Radomsky (2019): "methods are rarely process-pure and often conflate cognitive processes with measure outcomes … as if the outcome and the underlying cognitive process are one and the same" (p. 24). Therefore, our findings may reflect a discrepancy between how we conceptually defined load (i.e., a function of stimulus complexity due to exectuvie function and binding complexity demands; Simon, et al, 2016) and then actually scored a task with respect to load; e.g., more as a function of basic and isolated WM capacity (de Fockert, et al, 2001).…”

“…In contrast, our findings with respect to memory load were contrary to our expectations; that is, increases in load lead to better memory performance in the OCD group, although this effect was, as with binding complexity, relatively small. To explain this, we highlight a critique of cognitive research in OCD by Ouimet et al (2019): "Methods are rarely process-pure and often conflate cognitive processes with measure outcomes. .…”

Implicit Cognition and Psychopathology: Looking Back and Looking Forward

“…Surprisingly, given that OCD is characterized by involuntary cognitions, there are few theories specifically incorporating implicit cognitive processing in OCD. In a recent review of implicit beliefs in OCD, Ouimet and colleagues (2018) concluded that the current (and limited) state of the literature suggests that implicit (defined as unconsciously and rapidly activated concepts in memory) and explicit (defined as controlled, conscious, and slow) beliefs differentially influence behavioral and cognitive outcomes in individuals with OCD and that the data are mixed regarding whether changes in implicit cognition will change symptoms (Ouimet et al 2018). A few published reviews focus on the neurological findings tied to implicit cognition in OCD, with one implicating the basal ganglia as a critical region of the brain for forming motor and cognitive patterns (Graybiel & Rauch 2000).…”

Innovations and advances in cognitive behavioral therapy: Insights from experimental psychopathology

“…Although there may be an inherent assumption that experimental psychopathology research necessarily carries downstream clinical implications (Zvolensky et al, 2001), its findings do not always translate to improvements for people suffering from psychological disorders. To be clear, understanding phenomenological characteristics and correlates of psychological disorders has much to add to the knowledge base; however, focusing on mechanisms of change that therapists can readily address in therapy is key to reducing symptoms (e.g., see also Ouimet, Ashbaugh, & Radomsky, 2019). The researchers who contributed work to this Special Collection have truly taken that idea to heart in developing and implementing their studies.…”