Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons^™

The Role Of Stress In The Pathogenesis And Maintenance Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Thomas G. Adams, Benjamin Kelmendi, C. Alex Brake, Patricia Gruner, Christal L. Badour, Christopher Pittenger

Psychology Faculty Publications

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder often identify psychosocial stress as a factor that exacerbates their symptoms, and many trace the onset of symptoms to a stressful period of life or a discrete traumatic incident. However, the pathophysiological relationship between stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder remains poorly characterized: it is unclear whether trauma or stress is an independent cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms, a triggering factor that interacts with a preexisting diathesis, or simply a nonspecific factor that can exacerbate obsessive-compulsive disorder along with other aspects of psychiatric symptomatology. Nonetheless, preclinical research has demonstrated that stress has conspicuous effects on corticostriatal and limbic …