Ologies with Alie Ward Bonus Episode: The OCD Experience with Neurobiologist Uma Chatterjee
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Jul 29, 2025 Uma Chatterjee, a neuroscientist and mental health advocate, shares her personal journey with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She discusses the power of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy and the impact of cultural perceptions on mental health. Uma highlights the importance of support systems and challenges stigma surrounding OCD, while also exploring innovative treatments like psychedelics. Listeners gain insight into living with OCD and the significance of compassion in overcoming its hurdles.
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Uma's Early OCD Struggles
- Uma Chatterjee was born with OCD, feeling intense responsibility and fear from a young age.
- Her experience was compounded by abuse and a lack of mental health awareness in her immigrant household.
OCD: Obsessions and Compulsions Defined
- Obsessions are intrusive, unwanted thoughts that feel intense and unrelenting for those with OCD.
- Compulsions are behaviors done to reduce distress, but they reinforce the obsessive cycle.
Brain Circuitry of OCD
- OCD involves brain regions like the orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex hypervigilantly detecting threats.
- This creates a feedback cycle through the striatum and thalamus reinforcing obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.
