scholarly journals A Systematic Review of Scientific Studies and Case Reports on Music and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Author(s):  
Thanh Phuong Anh Truong ◽  
Briana Applewhite ◽  
Annie Heiderscheit ◽  
Hubertus Himmerich

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe psychiatric disorder, which can be associated with music-related symptoms. Music may also be used as an adjunct treatment for OCD. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we performed a systematic literature review exploring the relationship between music and OCD by using three online databases: PubMed, the Web of Science, and PsycINFO. The search terms were “obsessive compulsive disorder”, “OCD”, “music”, and “music therapy”. A total of 27 articles were utilised (n = 650 patients/study participants) and grouped into three categories. The first category comprised case reports of patients with musical obsessions in patients with OCD. Most patients were treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or a combination of an SSRI and another pharmacological or a non-pharmacological treatment, with variable success. Studies on the music perception of people with OCD or obsessive-compulsive personality traits represented the second category. People with OCD or obsessive-compulsive personality traits seem to be more sensitive to tense music and were found to have an increased desire for harmony in music. Three small studies on music therapy in people with OCD constituted the third category. These studies suggest that patients with OCD might benefit from music therapy, which includes listening to music.

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Corchs ◽  
Fábio Corregiari ◽  
Ygor Arzeno Ferrão ◽  
Tania Takakura ◽  
Maria Eugênia Mathis ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: Comorbidity with personality disorders in obsessive-compulsive patients has been widely reported. About 40% of obsessive-compulsive patients do not respond to first line treatments. Nevertheless, there are no direct comparisons of personality traits between treatment-responsive and non-responsive patients. This study investigates differences in personality traits based on Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory scores between two groups of obsessive-compulsive patients classified according to treatment outcome: responders and non-responders. METHOD: Forty-four responsive and forty-five non-responsive obsessive-compulsive patients were selected. Subjects were considered treatment-responsive (responder group) if, after having received treatment with any conventional therapy, they had presented at least a 40% decrease in the initial Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale score, had rated "better" or "much better" on the Clinical Global Impressions scale; and had maintained improvement for at least one year. Non-responders were patients who did not achieve at least a 25% reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale scores and had less than minimal improvement on the Clinical Global Impressions scale after having received treatment with at least three selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (including clomipramine), and at least 20 hours of cognitive behavioral therapy. Personality traits were assessed using Temperament and Character Inventory. RESULTS: Non-responders scored lower in self-directedness and showed a trend to score higher in persistence than responders did. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that personality traits, especially self-directedness, are associated with poor treatment response in obsessive-compulsive patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-81
Author(s):  
Masoud Bagheri ◽  
◽  
Kazem Nematollah Zadeh Mahani ◽  
Maryam Pour Amrollahi ◽  
◽  
...  

Aims: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the severe psychological health problems imposing considerable social and economic costs on society. OCD debilitating symptoms can disrupt interpersonal relations, job performance, and life quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating role of alexithymia in the relationship between coping strategies and personality traits with OCD. Methods & Materials: This is a descriptive correlational study. The study population consists of all people with OCD referred to psychiatric clinics in Kerman City, Iran, during 2018-2019. Of this population, 200 patients were selected using a convenience sampling method. Research instruments included the ways of coping questionnaire, NEO five-factor personality inventory, Toronto alexithymia scale, and Maudsley obsessive-compulsive test. The obtained data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation test and simultaneous and hierarchical regression in SPSS v. 23. Findings: Personality traits had a negative significant correlation with alexithymia (r=0.523, P<0.000) and OCD (r=0.253, P<0.000). Alexithymia had a significant positive correlation with OCD (r=0.272, P<0.000). There was no correlation between problem-focused coping and alexithymia (r=-0.045, P<0.531). There was a positive correlation between emotion-focused coping and OCD (r=0.198, P<0.000). The fit indices indicated a good fit of the proposed model (P<0.005). Conclusion: Alexithymia, as a mediator of the relationship between coping styles and personality traits with OCD, plays an essential role in improving the psychological health of people with OCD.


1998 ◽  
Vol 173 (S35) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. G. Baumgarten ◽  
Z. Grozdanovic

Background Serotonin may play a role in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) because of the anti-obsessional effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRJs).Method The literature is reviewed on knowledge of the role of serotonergic neurons in brain function, studies on monoamine metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), various stress neuropeptides, neuroendocrine and behavioural challenge after administration of direct and indirect serotomimetic compounds, and neuroanatomical data on brain circuits organising behaviour.Results In most of the OCD cases analysed, CSF 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid concentrations do not significantly differ from age-corrected controls. However, a relationship appears to exist between pre-treatment levels of these metabolites and clinical response to drugs acting on the serotonin transporter. Abnormalities in CSF arginine vasopressin, corticotropin-releasing hormone, oxytocin and somatostatin levels have been reported in OCD. Long-term treatment with high-doses of clomipramine, fluvoxamine, and fluoxetine tend to correct these neuropeptide abnormalities.Conclusions We hypothesise that continuous treatment with SSRJs alters serotonin turnover and neuropeptide expression patterns in OCD-entertaining functional forebrain/midbrain circuits.


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