Each episode of AJP Audio brings you an in-depth look at one of the articles featured in that month’s issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry, the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. Wide-ranging interviews with article authors cover the background, rationale, main findings, and future implications of the research. This podcast is subject to the Terms of Use at ww.psychiatry.org. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual speakers only and do not necessarily represent the views of the American Psychiatric Association, its officers, trustees, or members. The content of this podcast is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as, medical or any other type of professional advice nor does it represent any statement of the standard of care. We strongly recommend that any listener follow the advice of physicians directly involved in their care and contact their local emergency response number for any medical emergency. The information within this podcast is provided as-is and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or accurate.
https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/audio
January 2021: Brain Activation and Symptom Reduction in OCD Following CBT
Executive Editor Michael Roy speaks with Luke J. Norman, Ph.D., and Kate D. Fitzgerald, M.D., about their article examining whether brain activity is associated with treatment response to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in adolescents and adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and whether any associations are treatment specific relative to an active control psychotherapy (stress management therapy; SMT).
Dr. Luke Norman was recently a neuroscience postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. He is now affiliated with the National Institutes of Health. His research has looked at treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Dr. Kate Fitzgerald is the Phil F. Jenkins Research Professor of Depression and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. She is the academic director for child and adolescent psychiatry and co-director of the Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Clinic. She is also an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Psychology. Her work has examined pediatric anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, and currently, she is interested in looking for biomarkers of pediatric anxiety disorders that may represent options for novel, targeted treatments. She also has done work focusing on the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy in schools.
- How the authors became interested in this area of research [2:42]
- How prevalent obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is among the general population, and its conventional treatment approaches [5:50]
- Comparing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with a control psychotherapy called stress management therapy (SMT) [8:42]
- Details about two neural networks that have been implicated in OCD (the cingulo-opercular network and the orbito-striato-thalamic network) [12:04]
- Makeup of study participants, and methods the authors used to analyze the data [14:07]
- Comparison of symptom change between the group who received CBT relative to the group who received SMT [17:39]
- Details from functional MRI scans [18:23]
- Differences by age [20:40]
- Other notable study results [21:25]
- Limitations of the study [22:21]
- Implications that this work has for the understanding and treatment of OCD [23:30]
- Key points for researchers, clinicians, and other mental health professionals [24:50]
- Recommendations for further research [26:07]
Be sure to let your colleagues know about the podcast, and please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you listen to it.
Subscribe to the podcast here.
Listen to other podcasts produced by the American Psychiatric Association.
Browse articles online.
Watch Deputy Editor Daniel S. Pine, M.D., present highlights from the January 2021 issue.
Follow the journals of APA Publishing on Twitter.
E-mail us at ajp@psych.org