OCD: obsessive–compulsive … disgust? The role of

Social Cognition and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Review of Subdomains of Social Functioning

“…Additionally, outcomes from a meta-analysis by Daros et al (41) -including ten patient studies-also point to the presence of emotion recognition deficits in OCD, specifically for negative emotions such as disgust and, to a lesser extent, anger. Such a specific deficit in the recognition of facial expressions of disgust might represent an important marker of OCD and seems in line with studies highlighting the relevance of disgust in the symptomology of OCD, due to the role of this expression in the appraisal of potential contamination [see, e.g., (56)]. Yet, studies investigating the possible role of symptom subtype indicate no clear relation between specific symptom subtypes and facial emotion recognition deficits (40,46,49).…”

“…Yet, studies investigating the possible role of symptom subtype indicate no clear relation between specific symptom subtypes and facial emotion recognition deficits (40,46,49). It seems possible that disgust is involved in the symptomatology of OCD patients in a more general sense, as the emotion does not only convey possible contamination but also for example the violations of moral rules and interpersonal norms, to which individuals with OCD are thought to be particularly sensitive (56). Bhikram and colleagues suggest that patients with OCD learn to associate a broader range of stimuli and facial expressions with disgust due to an increased propensity to perceive them as disgusting, which might in turn decrease their ability to realistically identify stimuli expressing disgust.…”

“…In addition, patients showed altered neural activity in several other regions, such as the ACC, insula and ventro-and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These regions have also been implicated in neurobiological and neurocognitive accounts of the disorder [e.g., (16,56,66)] and increased activity in these regions may for example represent altered affective responsiveness and increased emotion regulation attempts during emotion processing (67). Moreover, altered activity in the thalamus was observed during the processing of facial emotions, an area which is thought to represent a key node in the disturbed fronto-striatal feedback loops thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of the disorder (16).…”

“…Many patients are characterized by a fear of contamination, which is associated with behavioral compulsions such as washing and cleaning. Because facial expressions of disgust convey potential contamination, this emotional expression is thought to be particularly relevant to the symptomatology of OCD (56). The expression of fear seems relevant to OCD as well, since patients with OCD are characterized by high levels of anxiety, and previous studies have among others demonstrated that anxious individuals show increased attentional bias to fear-or threat-related stimuli [see (57)] including facial expressions of fear [e.g., (58)].…”

Contamination and infection: What the coronavirus pandemic could reveal about the evolutionary origins of obsessive-compulsive disorder

“…Certain key brain regions, such as the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex, show increased activation both in OCD and in experiments designed to provoke disgust in normal individuals, underlining the link between the two. Thus, disgust could be an important link between evolutionary adaptations against infection and OCD (Bhikram et al, 2017).…”