Scientists on the ball for getting a grip on OCD

• New study shows zapping out OCD at the start of symptoms can control it from further evolving.
• Study showed that the brainwaves were coming from a specific region which gives the signals of "reward."
• Brain stimulation which reacts to symptoms and their severity could help people with OCD," says lead author.

Zapping the brains of individuals suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can help them before the symptoms appear, a new study has shown.

According to The Daily Mail, in the study, patients suffering from OCD had to do "completely debilitating and uncomfortable things" as opposed to things they wanted to do.

They had to touch dirty light switches, come in contact with others physically, and greet them by shaking their hands. This procedure was done to check how their brain would react to it.

The study showed that the brainwaves were coming from a specific region which gives the signals of "reward". By studying and taking out experiments, scientists have come up with the idea that zapping the brain with targeted pulses of electricity disrupt the signals and prevent symptoms. The brain signals can be tempered, which kick in before people start rituals or checks.

Disruption can be caused in the frontal lobe of the brain by blocking the brain cells which will wave from the reward centre part of the brain, by preventing the person from making rational decisions.

Dr David Borton — a professor at Brown University — who served as the senior author of the study on people with OCD, said: "Brain stimulation which reacts to symptoms and their severity could help people with OCD."

What is OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a behaviour disorder that hampers the social relations and interactions of a person suffering from it. Compulsive behaviour grows in people and they perform a physical action or something psychological again and again trying their best to relieve the obsessive psychological thoughts.

It doesn’t have any specific cause behind its development in the brain but psychologists and scientists consider severe anxiety, occurrences of specific chemical reactions, genetic issues, or severe trauma affecting the brain cells as a possible reason.