Obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders

Abstract

The obsessive-compulsive spectrum is an important concept referring to a number of disorders drawn from several diagnostic categories that share core obsessive-compulsive features. These disorders can be grouped by the focus of their symptoms: bodily preoccupation, impulse control, or neurological disorders. Although the disorders are clearly distinct from one another, they have intriguing similarities in phenomenology, etiology, pathophysiology, patient characteristics, and treatment response. In combination with the knowledge gained through many years of research on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the concept of a spectrum has generated much fruitful research on the spectrum disorders. It has become apparent that these disorders can also be viewed as being on a continuum of compulsivity to impulsivity, characterized by harm avoidance at the compulsive end and risk seeking at the impulsive end. The compulsive and impulsive disorders differ in systematic ways that are just beginning to be understood. Here, we review these concepts and several representative obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders including both compulsive and impulsive disorders, as well as the three different symptom clusters: OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, pathological gambling, sexual compulsivity, and autism spectrum disorders.

Prevalence and effect of cyberchondria on academic performance among undergraduate dental students

“…However, individuals with these obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibit repetitive behaviors because they have a defect in the mechanism that enables them to inhibit acting. [ 26 ] This was confirmed in the current study, which found that students with a lower academic % had a higher CSS score.…”

Relating Compulsivity and Impulsivity With Severity of Behavioral Addictions: A Dynamic Interpretation of Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Findings

“…In addictive behaviors, impulsivity has been recognized as a relevant risk factor for (early) substance use initiation (e.g., the transition from the naïve condition to recreational use and from recreational use to abuse and dependence), for persistence of use (e.g., drugs may harm the cognitive systems that control behavior) and for relapse (e.g., suppressing behavioral control over positive reinforcing behaviors) (16,17). Although not planned, impulsive behavior is driven by the promise of reward (positive reinforcement).…”

The metacontrol hypothesis as diagnostic framework of OCD and ADHD: A dimensional approach based on shared neurobiological vulnerability

“…In particular, we suggest that OCD and ADHD may not be two independent conditions, but in many aspects rather two poles of a common dimension. We are not the first to consider this possibility, as other authors have already suggested that OCD and ADHD might fall onto an impulsive-compulsive continuum (Allen et al, 2003). This continuum has been characterized in terms of harm avoidance at the compulsive pole and as risk seeking at the impulsive pole (Allen et al, 2003).…”