The Neuroanatomical, Neurophysiological and Neuropsychological aspects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition affecting about 2% of the population. Subjects with OCD typically suffer from recurring intrusive, unsettling thoughts and repetitive, ritualistic behaviors. This essay discusses the neuroanatomical, neurophysiological and neural psychological aspects of obsessive compulsive disorder. A range of studies have identified several regions within the brain thought to contribute to the disorder including the orbitofrontal cortex, important in reward based learning, the anterior cingulate cortex, important in error detection, the basal nuclei, involved in motor control, and the thalamus, involved in processing and relaying sensory information. These regions form part of larger neural circuits which could be responsible for the disorder. OCD causes a number of cognitive deficits in its sufferers, from problems in self-perception and regulation to memory and planning deficits.

The Neuroanatomical, Neurophysiological and Neuropsychological aspects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder thought to affect between 2% to 3% of the population (Koprivovaa et al., 2011) marked, as its name suggests, by recurrent intrusive thoughts which produce anxiety usually with repetitive ritualistic behaviors intended to reduce or neutralize this anxiety. Compulsive actions can include checking, counting or repetition, ordering and symmetry, washing, and hoarding (Neel, Stevens and Stewart 2002). Common obsessions include a fear of unintentionally harming oneself or others, a fear of dirt or germs or a fear of losing needed possessions. According to Graybiel and Rauch (2000) there are a number of general features about the symptoms of OCD, firstly that