Are patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder generally more doubtful? Doubt is warranted!

TY - JOUR

T1 - Are patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder generally more doubtful? Doubt is warranted!

AU - Moritz, Steffen

AU - Rietschel, Liz

AU - Jelinek, Lena

AU - Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - A number of neuropsychological models implicate disinhibition and a lack of response confidence in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To provide a fair test of the inhibition and confidence account, a variant of the directed forgetting (DF) paradigm with OCD-related and unrelated conditions was administered in 30 OCD patients and 20 healthy controls. First, 16 words were presented which the participant was subsequently instructed to forget. Then, 16 words were presented that should be memorized. After a short interval, patients were shown the to-be-forgotten and the to-be-remembered items along with new items in random order. The subjects were instructed to recollect both the to-be-remembered and the to-be-forgotten items. The subject was asked to grade responses according to confidence. In accordance with prior findings from our group, patients did not differ from controls on overall recollection, response confidence, and the recollection of to-be-forgotten (allegedly inhibited) information. Our study cannot refute the claim that disinhibition plays a role in OCD in view of the vast array of paradigms tapping different aspects of inhibition. Still, we deem a psychological understanding more fruitful that looks at dysfunctional coping strategies and false beliefs as mechanisms for the persistence and pervasiveness of obsessive thoughts.

AB - A number of neuropsychological models implicate disinhibition and a lack of response confidence in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To provide a fair test of the inhibition and confidence account, a variant of the directed forgetting (DF) paradigm with OCD-related and unrelated conditions was administered in 30 OCD patients and 20 healthy controls. First, 16 words were presented which the participant was subsequently instructed to forget. Then, 16 words were presented that should be memorized. After a short interval, patients were shown the to-be-forgotten and the to-be-remembered items along with new items in random order. The subjects were instructed to recollect both the to-be-remembered and the to-be-forgotten items. The subject was asked to grade responses according to confidence. In accordance with prior findings from our group, patients did not differ from controls on overall recollection, response confidence, and the recollection of to-be-forgotten (allegedly inhibited) information. Our study cannot refute the claim that disinhibition plays a role in OCD in view of the vast array of paradigms tapping different aspects of inhibition. Still, we deem a psychological understanding more fruitful that looks at dysfunctional coping strategies and false beliefs as mechanisms for the persistence and pervasiveness of obsessive thoughts.

KW - Adult

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Female

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Psychiatric Status Rating Scales

KW - Young Adult

KW - Neuropsychological Tests

KW - Statistics as Topic

KW - Analysis of Variance

KW - Vocabulary

KW - Inhibition (Psychology)

KW - Memory Disorders/etiology

KW - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/complications/psychology

KW - Recognition (Psychology)

KW - Adult

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Female

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Psychiatric Status Rating Scales

KW - Young Adult

KW - Neuropsychological Tests

KW - Statistics as Topic

KW - Analysis of Variance

KW - Vocabulary

KW - Inhibition (Psychology)

KW - Memory Disorders/etiology

KW - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/complications/psychology

KW - Recognition (Psychology)

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

VL - 189

SP - 265

EP - 269

JO - PSYCHIAT RES

JF - PSYCHIAT RES

SN - 0165-1781

IS - 2

M1 - 2

ER -