Университет Винчестера призывает взрослых с ОКР принять участие в исследовании активности мозга

A university study is seeking volunteers to help improve understanding and treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Academics at the University of Winchester are calling on adults living with OCD to take part in an ongoing study that aims to explore brain activity linked to specific symptoms, with the ultimate goal of developing more targeted treatments. OCD is often misunderstood as quirky or eccentric behaviour, but in reality, it can be deeply distressing and seriously disrupt daily life. Dr Rhiannon Jones, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Winchester, said: "We are looking at a new way of understanding symptoms in OCD by looking at their underlying mechanisms, and how they relate to brain activity. "For example, when looking at behaviours such as cleaning, checking, or ritualised blinking and swallowing, we want to see whether the brain activity is different depending on whether they are driven by fear, sensory urges, or both." Dr Jones has been working on the study for the past year alongside Winchester PhD student Eleanor Phillips and Professor Debra Gray of Kingston University. Together, they have been investigating whether there are identifiable links between specific OCD symptoms and patterns of brain activity. Current classifications of OCD are often based on the content of a person’s obsessions or compulsions, such as an intense fear of germs or a need for order and symmetry. However, these categories have not shown reliable connections to treatment outcomes or brain activity. The study involves an interview followed by two sessions of EEG (electroencephalogram) monitoring - a painless and non-invasive test that records electrical activity in the brain. Researchers hope the findings will eventually lead to the development of questionnaires that can support more personalised treatment options. The study will continue until the end of September. Researchers are seeking participants aged 18 to 55 who are living with OCD. Dr Jones said: "OCD can be such a debilitating condition, and many people do not realise how hard life can be for those with it. "Many people we have spoken to say they have not been helped by currently available treatments. "That’s why it is so important to learn how people with OCD experience their symptoms and how we can better understand OCD and help treatment work for everyone." Anyone interested in taking part can visit ocdstudy.wordpress.com/ocd-patient-information-sheet or email [email protected] for more information. Participants will remain anonymous in all published findings from the study.