A type of anxiety disorder dominated by obsessions and compulsions usually with child or adolescent onset, and which often occur with a high probability and rigid manner, even at the expense of more adaptive patterns of action. Symptoms of OCD can range from mild to severe. In its mild form, individuals may spend part of the day in repeatedly washing their hands while for others the condition may come to dominate almost every aspect of their lives (e.g., extreme hoarding). OCD often has co-morbidities such as Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD, and Tourette’s syndrome. It is also associated with an imbalance in serotonin and abnormal activity in in some parts of the brain (e.g., cingulate gyrus) as revealed by brain-imaging. As for children, OCD appears to become evident for the first time between the ages of about 7 and 12, being more prevalent in boys before the onset of puberty with no gender difference after the onset of puberty. Stressful experiences during childhood such as sexual abuse can constitute an increased risk factor for acquiring OCD as an adult.
See Asperger’s syndrome, Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, Behavior problems, Brain damage studies, Cingulate gyrus, Co-morbidity, Orbitofrontal cortex, Prefrontal-frontal-striatal loops, Risk factor, Serotonin (5-hydroxtrytamaine, or 5-HT), Tourette’s syndrome