The Unified Theory of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

AbstractVarious theories exist concerning the philosophical, biopsychosocial, and anatomic aspects of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The heterogeneous symptomatology of OCD and the complex interaction between the brain as a physical structure and the mind demands a theory fo OCD that recognizes the disorder as a unified emergent property. A unified theory of OCD is proposed, which incorporates the neurochemical, neuroanatomic, and psychatric underpinnings of this disorder, explor the methods by which OCD pathologies impact the neuroanatomic circuits of the brain, and explains how, through its symptmatology, OCD is “communicated” by the mind to the outside world.