Research

Brief (10 min) survey from McMaster University in Canada about how people with OCD are coping with COVID-19. http://fhswedge2.mcmaster.ca/redcaps/macanx/surveys/?s=qTp3nV

The Loop Study (Longitudinal Outcomes in OCD Project) is a long-term follow up study of individuals who completed the UCLA Intensive Outpatient Program. Participants are followed over a one year period and are asked about OCD symptoms, depression, stress, sleep and social support.

There are two ongoing OCD research projects for which we are actively recruiting OCD participants. Below is the relevant information. Please contact us if you are interested.

Decision-making in OCD: an fMRI and TMS study

Decision-making in OCD: Imaging and Neurostimulation

The goals of the UCLA Adult OCD research program are to better understand the brain and behaviors and how they relate to OCD symptoms, mechanisms of therapeutic improvement, prediction of response to treatment, and development of effective treatments. Our research program includes studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

The following are samples of research studies published by our group:

• Brain scan and artificial intelligence could help predict how OCD will improve with treatment with exposure and response prevention (a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD): https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/brain-scan-AI-help-predict-ocd-improve-treatment
  • https://www.pnas.org/content/115/9/2222
• Behavioral therapy results in widespread and strong increases in connectivity in brains of people with OCD: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/behavioral-therapy-increases-connectivity-in-brains-of-people-with-ocd
  • https://www.nature.com/articles/tp2017192
• Depression severity in OCD may be explained by differences in brain connectivity, and is influenced by the neurotransmitter glutamate
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5854805/
• How efficiently brains are wired in OCD may predict who will relapse after receiving exposure and response prevention
  • https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00074/full
• Dr. Feusner’s video of the Brain Mapping Seminar from 05/02/19
  • What functional connectivity can tell us about illness states, mechanisms of treatment, and clinical outcomes in obsessive-compulsive disorder
• New study of neural function in OCD and how it is affected by treatment with exposure and response prevention.
  • doi.org/10.1007/s11682-020-00358-8
• Cognitive behavioral therapy normalizes brain abnormality in OCD patients: https://www.uclahealth.org/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-normalizes-brain-abnormality-in-ocd-patients#.X48YtHXRC4Y.linkedin.
  • https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11682-020-00358-8