What etiological factors have been attributed to the development of OCD? {Ans: There is a positive link between streptococcal infections and OCD. Altered function in neurocircuitry between orbitofrontal cortex, caudate, and thalamus. Increased activity in the frontal lobes, basal ganglia and cingulum. Bilaterally smaller caudates. There is a significant genetic component (Sadock p. 419-420)}Differentiate between an obsession and a compulsion. {Ans: An obsession is a recurrent and intrusive thought, feeling, idea, or sensation. A compulsion is a conscious, standardized, recurrent behavior, such as counting, checking, or avoiding. (Sadock, p. 418)}What are the common symptoms represented in OCD? {Ans: intrusive thoughts rituals preoccupations compulsions (Sadock, p. 418)}What are the risk factors for the development of OCD? {Ans: Relatives of probands with OCD consistently have a threefold to fivefold higher probability of having OCD or obsessive compulsive features in adolescents, boys are more commonly affected than girls mean age of onset is about 20 years Single persons are more affected than married persons. It occurs less often among blacks than among whites (Sadock p. 419)}In OCD patients, what is "magical thinking"? {Ans: omnipotence of thought by thinking about an event in the external world causes the event