Neurobiology of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Once considered a rare condition, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is now recognized as a severe and often chronically disabling illness affecting 1% to 3%of the world's population (1) Apart from the initially dominant psychodynamic and behavioural understanding, biological understanding of the disabling condition got impetus after the advent of successful clinical trials of OCD with clomipramine. In the past two decades, there has been a considerable advance in understanding the biological underpinnings of OCD with emergence of various hypothetical models. Some of the views have raised questions over existing beliefs, too. Thus, to have an insight into the risk, phenomenology, pathophysiology and treatment implications of OCD, there is a need to know the neurobiological mechanism mediating it.

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