Your roommate has always insisted on keeping the room in order, and you know better than to move anything on her desk because she gets very upset if everything isn't in a specific place. Lately, she has insisted on cleaning the room every night before bed, even the windows and floors, all in a fixed order. You've asked her to stop, but she can't seem to make herself go to bed without this nightly cleaning ritual. Does her behavior fit the pattern of a recognized disorder, and if so, which? What may be causing her anxiety? What purpose does the escalating cleaning ritual serve? What may be going on in your roommate's brain?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is The answer should include the following information: (1) The behavior described fits the pattern of obsessive-compulsive disorder; (2) Your roommate has some of the typical symptoms of OCD: ritualistic behaviors, seeming inability to stop these behaviors, anxiety (over the cleanliness of the room), and a fixed order of routine; (3) In obsessive-compulsive disorder, the obsessions (in this case, fear of germs) create great anxiety, and the compulsive behaviors (in this case, cleaning the room) are performed to reduce the anxiety; (4) There is evidence that implicates heightened neural activity in the caudate nucleus of the brain, a portion of the basal ganglia known to be involved in the initiation of intentional actions. Sometimes, drugs that increase the activity of the neurotransmitter serotonin can inhibit the activity of the caudate nucleus and relieve some of the symptoms of this disorder.

Your Roommate Has Always Insisted on Keeping the Room in Order