Pondering OCD: Mechanisms, Puzzles and Prospects with Trevor Robbins

University of Cambridge Professor Trevor Robbins is a highly cited neuroscientist who has made major contributions to understanding how neuronal circuits and neurotransmitters control behaviors in health and brain disorders. In this episode I talk with Trevor about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) an often debilitating mental disorder in which the affected person exhibits repetitive behaviors that interfere with their lives. He talks about studies in humans and animal models that point to problems in the communication of the frontal lobes (which function in cognitive control and decision-making) with the basal ganglia (which mediates habitual / automatic body movements).  We also talk about treatments for OCD which involve drugs that increase serotonin levels at synapses and, in severe OCD cases, deep brain stimulation or surgical excision of the cingulate cortex.

LINKS

Trevor Robbins webpage: https://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/directory/profile.php?Trevor

Trevor Robbins publications on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=robbins+tw&sort=date&size=200

Review article on OCD: https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0896-6273%2819%2930073-X

Review article on cognitive control and executive function tests: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8617292/pdf/41386_2021_Article_1132.pdf

Recent article on delayed development of PFC and mental disorders: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10202801/pdf/41591_2023_Article_2317.pdf