[New pathophysiological approaches to obsessive-compulsive disorder]. 2020

Nabil Benzina
Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève, département de santé mentale et de psychiatrie, Genève, Suisse.

New pathophysiological approaches to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Since the beginning of research in the 1980s, it has been consistently shown that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is neurobiologically underpinned by the dysfunction of a so-called cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loop (CSTC). Within this loop, various structures have been identified as being affected, foremost among which are the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices, as well as the caudate nucleus, one of the structures of the striatum. More recently, a large number of studies have contributed to broadening this classical view of the altered CSTC loop by revealing the involvement of broader cerebral networks involving notably the temporal and parietal cortices. These functional and structural alterations are underpinned by an impairment of certain neurotransmission systems. While serotonin was the first to be incriminated due to the efficacy of serotonergic antidepressants, it turns out that years of research in genetics and neuroimaging have invalidated this hypothesis in favour of a new target: glutamate. Our understanding of the pathophysiology of OCD is thus constantly being refined through the combination of increasingly precise neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and genetic data, and will ultimately contribute to the development of new therapies for this disorder.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009771 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder An anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, persistent obsessions or compulsions. Obsessions are the intrusive ideas, thoughts, or images that are experienced as senseless or repugnant. Compulsions are repetitive and seemingly purposeful behavior which the individual generally recognizes as senseless and from which the individual does not derive pleasure although it may provide a release from tension. Anankastic Personality,Neurosis, Obsessive-Compulsive,Anankastic Personalities,Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive,Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive,Neuroses, Obsessive-Compulsive,Neurosis, Obsessive Compulsive,Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders,Obsessive-Compulsive Neuroses,Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis,Personalities, Anankastic,Personality, Anankastic
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

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