Researchers at Rigshospital have used advanced scanning techniques to reveal regions of the brain which may be responsible for the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder. This according to daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende on Monday. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is believed to affect 2-3% of the national population. In some severe cases, obsessive-compulsive sufferers are rendered virtual invalids, unable to work or maintain social relationships. Symptoms include obsessive fear of hurting others, fear of contamination, sexual or religious obsessions or extreme fixations on order and symmetry. Researchers believe the discovery will be of enormous benefit to the medical understanding of OCD. All rights reserved CPHPOST.DK ApS

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 15: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress; Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 11: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress; Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 2089 - Posted: 05.19.2002

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE Compulsive gambling, attendance at sporting events, vulnerability to telephone scams and exuberant investing in the stock market may not seem to have much in common. But neuroscientists have uncovered a common thread. Such behaviors, they say, rely on brain circuits that evolved to help animals assess rewards important to their survival, like food and sex. Researchers have found that those same circuits are used by the human brain to assess social rewards as diverse as investment income and surprise home runs at the bottom of the ninth. And, in a finding that astonishes many people, they found that the brain systems that detect and evaluate such rewards generally operate outside of conscious awareness. In navigating the world and deciding what is rewarding, humans are closer to zombies than sentient beings much of the time. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology; Chapter 15: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 3: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology; Chapter 11: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress
Link ID: 1557 - Posted: 02.20.2002