Topic description and stories

Imaging of the Supplementary Motor Area (left) and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (right) from the study

Chemical imbalance in the forebrain underpins compulsive behaviour and OCD

27 Jun 2023

Neuroscientists say that the findings are a “major piece of the puzzle” in understanding OCD, and could open up new lines of treatment.

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Contaminating a fake rubber hand could help people overcome OCD, study suggests

09 Jan 2020

The famous, but bizarre, ‘rubber hand illusion’ could help people who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder overcome their condition without the...

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Washing hands

Deep brain stimulation may significantly improve OCD symptoms, study suggests

07 Mar 2019

The debilitating behaviours and all-consuming thoughts, which affect people with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), could be significantly...

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Images from app

Brain training app helps reduce OCD symptoms, study finds

23 Oct 2018

A ‘brain training’ app developed at the University of Cambridge could help people who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) manage their...

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Carol

Study of learning and memory problems in OCD helps young people unlock their potential at school

22 Jan 2018

Adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have widespread learning and memory problems, according to research published today. The...

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The OCD Brain: how animal research helps us understand a devastating condition

28 Mar 2017

OCD can be a devastating condition: therapy and medication often doesn’t work, leaving many people unable to hold down a job or a relationship – or...

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OCD Letter Blocks

Patients with OCD have difficulty learning when a stimulus is safe

06 Mar 2017

People who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are poorer at learning about the safety of a stimulus than healthy volunteers, which may...

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Anxiety

Women and people under the age of 35 at greatest risk of anxiety

06 Jun 2016

Women are almost twice as likely to experience anxiety as men, according to a review of existing scientific literature, led by the University of...

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OCD Letter Blocks

OCD patients’ brains light up to reveal how compulsive habits develop

19 Dec 2014

Misfiring of the brain’s control system might underpin compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to researchers at the University...

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder - does age matter?

10 Oct 2014

The Max Perutz Science Writing Award aims to encourage and recognise outstanding written communication among MRC PhD students. The annual competition...

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Washing hands

Creatures of habit: disorders of compulsivity share common pattern and brain structure

29 May 2014

People affected by binge eating, substance abuse and obsessive compulsive disorder all share a common pattern of decision making and similarities in...

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Hand washing from Hygiene Matters 2010

New insight into how OCD develops

23 May 2011

Study shows that compulsions lead to obsessions, and not the other way around.

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