Brain Malfunctions And OCD

After looking back on my trip to the Museum Of Science and Industry and the images that were displayed there I find myself attracted to the same image over and over. The brain one.

I love the colours of the wiring and how it's a literal depiction of the brain with a creative twist, that being the colours and viewpoint. The brain image got me thinking about what parts of the brain are responsible for making us act in certain ways, like the brain activity of an OCD sufferer so I researched into possible reasons of why people suffer from OCD in relation to the brain and I found a really interesting website offering suggestions as to why people suffer from it: www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/articles/disorders/causesofocd.shtml

The parts of the brain that may contribute to existing OCD in a patient are the Orbital-frontal cortex, the head of the Caudate nucleus and the Thalamus.

The orbital-frontal cortex (OFC) is the part of the brain that notices when something is wrong. e.g. when the OFC registers that dirt is near by then it will send a 'worry' signal to the Thalamus.

The Thalamus directs signals from many parts of the brain to places that can interpret them.

When the Thalamus receives a 'worry' signal, it becomes excited and sends strong signals back through the loop (the loop is formed by connected nerve cells after the Thalamus sends signals back to the OFC after receiving that worry signal.) to the OFC which interprets them.

Normally, the head of the Caudate nucleus suppresses the original 'worry' signal sent by the OFC to the Thalamus which prevents the Thalamus form becoming hyperactive.

In the case of OCD sufferers it is thought that their Caudate nucleus is damaged so it's unable to suppress signals from the OFC, allowing the Thalamus to become over-excited. If this happens then the Thalamus sends strong signals back to the OFC which responds by increasing compulsive behaviour and anxiety. 

I'm interested to see what medical, social and mental reasons have been put forward to being the cause of certain types of OCD. I will look into all the possibilites and try to come up with a personal opinion on the matter, as for now I'm excited to find more information about eh brain and how it works in relation to OCD and related conditions. I'm going to try to get my hands on some brain scans to see what I can do with them in terms of creative photographic imagery.