Hostname: page-component-6898cfcb55-th4rj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-12T03:50:03.874Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Psychophysiology of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Janet Haines,
Stephen Josephs,
Christopher L. Williams and
Jennifer H. Wells
Janet Haines*
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
Stephen Josephs
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
Christopher L. Williams
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
Jennifer H. Wells
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
*
Department of Psychology, University of Tasmania, GPO Box 252-30, Hobart TAS 7001, Australia. E-mail: J.Haines@utas.edu.au
Get access

Extract

The aim of the study was to compare the psychophysiological pattern associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) in clinical patients (n = 13) and checking behaviours in a nonclinical population (n = 13) to evaluate the validity of the anxiety reduction hypothesis. A second objective was to examine the psychophysiological pattern associated with prevention of ritualistic behaviour in the OCD group and of checking behaviour in the control group. A guided imagery methodology was utilised in order to examine the progression of the behaviours over time. Various psychophysiological measures were incorporated to account for the response to personalised imagery presented in four distinct stages. The stages included setting the scene, approach, incident, and consequence. Both the psychophysiological and the subjective response to the ritual/checking and response-prevention/no-checking scripts were higher than to the neutral script for both groups. A trend towards significantly higher heart rate response to the response-prevention/no-checking than to the ritual/checking script was also observed. Higher levels of depersonalisation and anxiety in the OCD group were observed following prevention of the ritual. The patterns of response indicated obsessive–compulsive behaviour may act to prevent the level of anxiety experienced by an individual from escalating, rather than to reduce it from an already elevated level.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , December 1998, pp. 244 - 254
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Barlow, D.H. (1988). Anxiety and its disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Brain, K.L., Haines, J., & Williams, C.L. (1998). The psychophysiology of self-mutilative behaviour: Evidence of tension reduction. Archives of Suicide Research, 4, 227–242.Google Scholar
Carr, A.T. (1971). Compulsive neurosis: Two psychophysiological studies. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 24, 256–257.Google Scholar
Carson, J., Haines, J., & Williams, C.L. (in press). The psychophysiology of workplace phobia. Anxiety, Stress and Coping.Google Scholar
Driscoll, C., Williams, C.L., & Haines, J. (1996, 10). The psychophysiology of self-poisoning. Paper presented at the International Congress on Stress and Health, Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Emmelkamp, P.M.G., Bouman, T.K., & Scholing, A. (1992). Anxiety disorders: A practitioner's guide. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Fleming, I., & Baum, A. (1987). Stress: Psychobiological assessment. In Ivancevich, J.M. & Ganster, D.C. (Eds.), Job stress: From theory to suggestion (pp. 117–140). New York: Haworth.Google Scholar
Frost, R.O., Sher, K.J., & Green, T. (1986). Psychopathology and personality characteristics of non-clinical compulsive checkers. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24, 133–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, W.K., Price, L.H., Rasmussen, S.A., Mazure, C., Fleischmann, R.L., Hill, C.L., Heninger, G.R., & Charney, D.S. (1989). The Yale-Brown Obsessive Scale: I. Development, use, and reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46, 1006–1011.Google Scholar
Gordon, R. (1949). An investigation into some factors that favour the formation of stereotyped images. British Journal of Psychology, 39, 156–167.Google Scholar
Grayson, J.B., Nutter, D., & Mavissakalian, M. (1980). Psychophysiological assessment of imagery in obsessive-compulsives: A pilot study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 18, 590–593.Google Scholar
Haines, J., Williams, C.L., Brain, K.L., & Wilson, G.V. (1995). The psychophysiology of self-mutilation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 471–489.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodgson, R.J., & Rachman, S. (1972). The effects of contamination and washing in obsessional patients. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 10, 111–117.Google Scholar
Hodgson, R.J., & Rachman, S. (1974). Desynchrony in measures of fear. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 72, 319–326.Google Scholar
Hoehn-Saric, R., McLeod, D.R., Zimmerli, W.D., & Hipsley, P.A. (1993). Symptoms and physiologic manifestations in obsessive compulsive patients before and after treatment with clomipramine. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 54, 272–276.Google Scholar
Hornsveld, R.H.J., Kraaimaat, F.W., & van Dam-Baggen, R.M.J. (1979). Anxiety/ discomfort and handwashing in obsessive-compulsive and psychiatric control patients. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17, 223–228.Google Scholar
I'Anson, K. (1993). Understanding the OCD mind. Paper presented at the 1st Australian Conference on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, “A Hidden Disability”, Melbourne, Australia.Google Scholar
Kaplan, S.L. (1994). A self-rated scale for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 50, 564–574.Google Scholar
Lang, P.J. (1979). A bio-information theory of emotional imagery. Psychophysiology, 16, 495–511.Google Scholar
McCormack, H.M., de Horne, D.J., & Sheather, S. (1988). Clinical applications of visual analogue scales: A critical review. Psychological Medicine, 18, 1007–1019.Google Scholar
McLaren, S., Haines, J., & Williams, C.L. (1996, October). The psychophysiological and psychological responses of police officers to work situations. Paper presented at the International Congress on Stress and Health, Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Rachman, S. (1978). An anatomy of obsessions. Behavior Analysis and Modification, 2, 253–278.Google Scholar
Rachman, S., & de Silva, P. (1978). Abnormal and normal obsessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 16, 233–248.Google Scholar
Rachman, S., & Hodgson, R. (1974). Synchrony and desynchrony in fear and avoidance. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 12, 311–318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rachman, S.J., & Hodgson, R.J. (Eds.). (1980). Obsessions and compulsions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Rapoport, J.L. (1989). The boy who couldn't stop washing. New York: E.P. Dutton.Google Scholar
Roper, G., Rachman, S., & Hodgson, R. (1973). An experiment on obsessional checking. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 11, 271–277.Google Scholar
Salkovskis, P.M. (1989). Cognitive-behavioural factors and the persistence of intrusive thoughts in obsessional problems. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 677–682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salkovskis, P.M., & Harrison, J. (1984). Abnormal and normal obsessions: A replication. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 22, 549–552.Google Scholar
Sheehan, P.W. (1967). A shortened form of Betts' questionnaire upon mental imagery. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 23, 386–389.Google Scholar
Stanley, M.A., & Turner, S.M. (1995). Current status of pharmacological and behavioral treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behavior Therapy, 26, 163–186.Google Scholar
Steketee, G., & White, K. (1990). When once is not enough: Help for obsessive compulsives. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.Google Scholar
Stern, R.S., Ray, W.J., & Davis, C.M. (1980). Psychophysiological recording. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (1989). Using multivariate statistics. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Wells, J., Haines, J., & Williams, C.L. (in press). The self-mutilative nature of severe onychophagia: A comparison with self-cutting. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Williams, C.L., Haines, J., & Brain, K.L. (1995, 04). The psychophysiology of the binge-purge cycle. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Eating Disorders, London, England.Google Scholar
Williams, C.L., Wilson, G.V., Montgomery, I.M., & Batik, M. (1989). The psychophysiology of family violence. Paper presented to the World Congress of Mental Health, Auckland, New Zealand.Google Scholar
Zahn, T.P., Insel, T.R., & Murphy, D.L. (1984). Psychophysiological changes during pharmacological treatment of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 39–44.Google Scholar