Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

$6.6M Awarded to OCD Research since 1987

The Latest Research Discoveries

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Posted: October 12, 2023

Interpretation of Brain Scan Results Suggests Ways of Optimizing Psychotherapies for OCD

Functional Connectivity Brain Changes Involving Linkages Between Cognition and Motor Function Are Discerned in OCD Patients

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Posted: July 06, 2023

Functional Connectivity Brain Changes Involving Linkages Between Cognition and Motor Function Are Discerned in OCD Patients

Some OCD Patients Who Attain “Wellness” After Exposure Therapy May Safely Taper Off Their SRI Medicines, Study Suggests

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Posted: July 06, 2022

Some OCD Patients Who Attain “Wellness” After Exposure Therapy May Safely Taper Off Their SRI Medicines, Study Suggests

Experiments Reveal How a Circuit 'Resets' When the Brain Learns to Respond to New Conditions

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Posted: June 21, 2021

Experiments Reveal How a Circuit 'Resets' When the Brain Learns to Respond to New Conditions

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation May Help Some OCD Patients Who Don’t Respond to Medications or Psychotherapy

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Posted: September 12, 2019

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation May Help Some OCD Patients Who Don’t Respond to Medications or Psychotherapy

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Posted: May 22, 2018

Largest-Ever Cortical Imaging Study of OCD Patients Offers Clues to Causes

New Analysis Finds Behavioral Therapy Should Be Combined with Medication to Relieve Severe Anxiety in Children

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Posted: November 14, 2017

New Analysis Finds Behavioral Therapy Should Be Combined with Medication to Relieve Severe Anxiety in Children

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Posted: August 14, 2017

Small Study Finds Signs of Brain Inflammation in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

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Posted: July 03, 2017

New Research Shows How Pediatric OCD Impacts the Whole Family

Experimental Drug May Relieve OCD Symptoms Quickly

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Posted: May 22, 2017

Early Test Shows: Experimental Drug May Have Potential to Relieve OCD Symptoms Quickly and with Few Side Effects

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Posted: May 09, 2017

Imaging Study Finds Possible White Matter Microstructural Abnormalities in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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Posted: January 25, 2017

Study Shows Which Treatments OCD Patients Prefer, and Why

Molecular Pathway that May Suppress Repetitive Behaviors

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Posted: December 19, 2016

Researchers Find Molecular Pathway that May Suppress Repetitive Behaviors

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Posted: December 02, 2016

Emotional Disorders Share Disruptions to Brain’s White Matter, Imaging Reveals

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Posted: July 21, 2016

Researchers Unravel New Details of How the Brain Processes Fear

Pathways That May be Disrupted in People with OCD

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Posted: May 23, 2016

Genetic Study Reveals Pathways That May be Disrupted in People with OCD

Obsessive-Compulsive and Tic Disorders Cluster in Families

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Posted: March 27, 2015

Study Finds Obsessive-Compulsive and Tic Disorders Cluster in Families

Reward Circuit Differences in People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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Posted: February 23, 2015

Team Finds Reward Circuit Differences in People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Optogenetics Technology Helps Identify More Precise Treatment Targets for OCD

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Posted: June 11, 2013

Optogenetics Technology Helps Identify More Precise Treatment Targets for OCD

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Posted: May 10, 2013

Real-Time Feedback from Brain Scans Shows Potential as Anxiety & OCD Therapy

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Posted: January 01, 2013

NARSAD Grant Discovery: Deep-Brain Stimulation as Treatment for Nicotine Addiction

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Posted: May 31, 2012

NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grantee Wins Kavli Prize in Neuroscience

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Posted: January 19, 2012

OCD: Identifying What Works Differently in the Brain and If It Can Be Remedied Over Time

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Posted: October 19, 2011

NARSAD Grantees Part of Team To Show Talk Therapy Helps Young OCD Patients

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Posted: September 20, 2011

NARSAD Grantee and Colleagues Create New Model for Treatment of OCD

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Posted: February 16, 2011

The NARSAD Feed: Patient Voices of OCD and Dealing with Stress in the Workplace

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Posted: February 01, 2011

Is Fear Extinction Possible in Treating OCD?

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Posted: November 01, 2010

Newly Discovered Role of Gene Linked to OCD

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Posted: April 01, 2010

Kiki Chang and Tara Peris: Helping Families Cope with Childhood Mental Illness

5 million adults

More than five million adults in the US are diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in their lifetime.*

* Source: National Institute of Mental Health

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Patients with #OCD often prefer psychotherapy to meds—new research explores the factors behind this preference. TWEET

Meet a Researcher

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Carolyn I. Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Dean, Academic Affairs

Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Director, Translational OCD Research Program

Stanford University School of Medicine

Scientific Council Member (Joined 2020)

2014, 2009 Young Investigator Grant

Ask an Expert

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Helen Blair Simpson, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Clinical Psychiatry

Director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic

Columbia University / New York State Psychiatric Institute

2010 Independent Investigator Grant

2005 Young Investigator Grant

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Learn More About the Foundation

WhoWe Are

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is a global nonprofit organization focused on improving the understanding, prevention and treatment of psychiatric and mental illnesses.

Beginning in 1987, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation was providing seed money to neuroscientists to invest in “out of the box” research that the government and other sources were unwilling to fund. Today, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is still the leading, private philanthropy in the world in this space.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)