Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common
psychiatric illness characterized by recurrent,
intrusive thoughts and repetitive, stereotyped
behaviors. Research suggests that OCD is
associated with specific deficits related to
organizing and manipulating information in working
memory and with certain pre-morbid personality
traits. However, further research is needed to
elucidate whether these findings are specific to OCD
or are present in other anxiety disorders and/or
individuals with sub-clinical levels of
obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. In this
research, OCD patients are compared to patients with
panic disorder, subjects with sub-clinical OC
symptoms and healthy control subjects on tests of
working memory and a measure of normal personality
traits. Overall, OCD patients showed impairment on
cognitive tasks requiring the organization and
manipulation of
information in working memory. The OCD patients also
differed from the other experimental groups on a
measure of normal personality traits. The results
have implications for sub-clinical OC research and
the clinical management of OCD.

Autorentext
Dr. Karen Hansen (BAppSc, BA(Hons), PhD) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Brain Sciences Institute, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. Dr. Hansen manages the Clinical and Educational Emotional Intelligence Research Unit - researching Emotional Intelligence assessment and development in adolescent and psychiatric populations.

Klappentext
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common psychiatric illness characterized by recurrent, intrusive thoughts and repetitive, stereotyped behaviors. Research suggests that OCD is associated with specific deficits related to organizing and manipulating information in working memory and with certain pre-morbid personality traits. However, further research is needed to elucidate whether these findings are specific to OCD or are present in other anxiety disorders and/or individuals with sub-clinical levels of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. In this research, OCD patients are compared to patients with panic disorder, subjects with sub-clinical OC symptoms and healthy control subjects on tests of working memory and a measure of normal personality traits. Overall, OCD patients showed impairment on cognitive tasks requiring the organization and manipulation of information in working memory. The OCD patients also differed from the other experimental groups on a measure of normal personality traits. The results have implications for sub-clinical OC research and the clinical management of OCD.