Research Article
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: The Orbitofrontal-Striatal Model, and Deep Brain Stimulation
Robert K. McClureOCD is a serious neuropsychiatric illness with a distinct epidemiology, social, educational and economic impact. Suicide is a lethal outcome of OCD. Treatment-resistant OCD is uncommon, but highly debilitating. Clinical symptoms of OCD are characterized by obsessions and compulsions. Treatment of OCD includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy. Treatment refractory OCD may respond to Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). The evidence for the role of orbitofrontal-striato-thalamic circuits in mediating emotion, learning, and reward-focused behavior is presented. The evidence that these important brain systems are dysfunctional in patients with OCD is also presented