Just let me check: The role of individual differences in self-reported anxiety and obsessive-compulsive features on subjective, behavioural, and physiological indices during a checking task

The Network Structure of Relationship Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Presentations: The Interplay between ROCD Symptoms with Maladaptive and Non-Maladaptive Personality Traits

INTRODUCTION

The current study aimed to utilize a network perspective to identify the core symptoms of Relationship Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (ROCD), encompassing both partner-focused and relationship-centered presentations. Additionally, we examined the interaction between ROCD symptoms and personality traits.

METHOD

493 participants were included in the current study. The Personality Inventory for DSM-5 - short form (PID-5-SF), NEO Five-Factor Inventory, Partner-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Inventory (PROCSI), and Relationship Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (ROCI) were used to estimate the network structure. Specifically, we computed network structure, bridge expected influence (BEI), and Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) for ROCD scales.

RESULTS

In the ROCI network, items 1 and 11 (ROCI.1: "The idea that my affection for my partner is not genuine troubles me," ROCI.7: Thoughts that something is "off" in my relationship significantly disturb me.) emerged as the most important nodes (ROCI.1: Betweenness:1.777, Closeness:1.025, Strength: .872; ROCI.11" Betweenness: 1.097, Closeness:0.457, strength:.699). Additionally, ROCI.7 stands out with significant Betweenness and Expected Influence, emphasizing its importance in facilitating communication and influencing information flow. Conversely, in the PROCI network, item 2 (PROCI.2: "I am constantly questioning whether my partner is deep and intelligent enough") was identified as the most crucial node (Betweenness: 2.568, Closeness: 2.528, Strength: 1.905). Neuroticism is highly influential in the interaction of personality traits with the ROCI scale (BEI: .3781), connecting non-maladaptive traits, while Negative affect, a maladaptive trait, has a significant impact (Bridge Value: .283).

CONCLUSION

The present study provided a detailed examination of the psychological dynamics within romantic relationships, highlighting key cognitive processes and personality trait.

Opening new vistas on obsessive-compulsive disorder with the observing response task

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a highly prevalent and debilitating disorder, is incompletely understood in terms of underpinning behavioural, psychological, and neural mechanisms. This is attributable to high symptomatic heterogeneity; cardinal features comprise obsessions and compulsions, including clinical subcategories. While obsessive and intrusive thoughts are arguably unique to humans, dysfunctional behaviours analogous to those seen in clinical OCD have been examined in nonhuman animals. Genetic, ethological, pharmacological, and neurobehavioural approaches all contribute to understanding the emergence and persistence of compulsive behaviour. One behaviour of particular interest is maladaptive checking, whereby human patients excessively perform checking rituals despite these serving no purpose. Dysfunctional and excessive checking is the most common symptom associated with OCD and can be readily operationalised in rodents. This review considers animal models of OCD, the neural circuitries associated with impairments in habit-based and goal-directed behaviour, and how these may link to the compulsions observed in OCD. We further review the Observing Response Task (ORT), an appetitive instrumental learning procedure that distinguishes between functional and dysfunctional checking, with translational application in humans and rodents. By shedding light on the psychological and neural bases of compulsive-like checking, the ORT has potential to offer translational insights into the underlying mechanisms of OCD, in addition to being a platform for testing psychological and neurochemical treatment approaches.

Visuospatial working memory capacity moderates the relationship between anxiety and OCD related checking behaviors

BACKGROUND

Compulsive checking behavior is the most prevalent compulsive behavior in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). While some studies have shown that anxiety and executive function influence compulsive checking behavior, the relationship between these constructs is inconclusive. Hence, we sought to explore the interplay between executive function, anxiety and compulsive checking behavior.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

47 healthy participants (HC) and 51 patients with OCD participated in the study. Symptoms and emotional states were assessed using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Participants also completed three tests of neuropsychological functioning: the Stop Signal Task, the Spatial working memory Task, and the Wisconsin card sorting test. We analyzed the relationships between anxiety, executive function, and compulsive checking symptoms.

RESULTS

Patients with OCD showed significantly greater anxiety (p < 0.001) and impairments in visuospatial working memory function (p = 0.030) compared to HC participants, while inhibition and set-shifting were not significantly different between the two groups. Visuospatial working memory was negatively related to compulsive checking behavior (p = 0.016). Visuospatial working memory also played a moderating role in the positive relationship between anxiety and compulsive checking behavior (β = -0.281, p = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

Anxiety symptoms play an important role in explaining compulsive checking behavior in patients with OCD who have relatively weak visuospatial working memory ability. These findings provide a foundation for further research regarding the roles of emotion and cognitive inflexibility in compulsive checking behavior in patients with OCD.