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Open research questions in Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders

147 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 1,907 Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • However, findings across these studies consistently show that medication use is associated with greater symptom severity and the presence of comorbidities; the medicated patients in the UK special- ist clinic cohort (which included mostly adult patients, with limited data from children) also had significantly higher baseline tic severity scores (YGTSS mean = 26.

    Medication use and treatment patterns in children and adolescents with chronic tic disorders: an EMTICS study · 2026 · DOI

  • However, whether this model fully applies to prolactinoma patients treated with cabergoline, who do not have underlying nigrostriatal dopa- mine deficiency but rather dysfunction involving the tuber- oinfundibular pathway, remains to be determined. Our findings of higher BIS-11 scores in patients receiv- ing cabergoline for prolactinoma, compared with healthy controls, expand on previous studies, which have reported inconsistent results regarding BIS-11 scores.

    Increased impulsivity and higher odds of compulsive shopping among cabergoline-treated patients with prolactinoma: a case-control study · 2026 · DOI

  • While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has revealed associated alterations at the brain network level in adults, studies in pediatric OCD has yielded inconsistent results.

    Inhibitory control in children and adolescents with paediatric-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder - An fMRI study · 2026 · DOI

  • The central claim—that preserved-insight OCD is maintained by a recursive failure to integrate affect into shared meaning and flexible action—remains to be con- firmed by the empirical program outlined above.

    A Testable Recursive Affective-Regulatory Framework for Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: Symbolic Integration Failure, Inflated Responsibility, and Discursive Saturation · 2026 · DOI

  • Seventh, the treatment-sequencing proposal ("Clinical Implications: A Preliminary Treatment-Sequencing Pro- posal" section) is logically derived from the framework but has not been evaluated empirically; it should be treated as hypothesis-generating and subjected to pilot testing before clinical adoption.

    A Testable Recursive Affective-Regulatory Framework for Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: Symbolic Integration Failure, Inflated Responsibility, and Discursive Saturation · 2026 · DOI

  • warranted. Firstly, subsequent studies should utilise significantly larger sample sizes to enhance statistical power and generalisability. Secondly, future investigations would benefit from including a broader range of cardiac conduction markers, in specifically heart are preliminary, rate variability research (HRV), future study for to addition to the ECG parameters measured here, to provide a more comprehensive assessment of autonomic functioning. Thirdly, given the high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity in GAD, future studies should implement stricter controls subclinical conditions concurrent for depressive symptoms isolate the specific effects of generalised anxiety on atrial electrophysiology. Finally, longitudinal research is essential to evaluate whether successful treatment, whether pharmacological or psychotherapeutic, can reverse the observed increase in P wave dispersion and mitigate long-term cardiac risk. and in order to Number: (Approval to Ethical approval: Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Firat University School of Medicine Local Ethics Committee on 14 January 2021/01-37).

    P Wave Dispersion in Patients with Generalised Anxiety Disorder · 2026 · DOI

  • Consequently, clinical monitoring is warranted in especially when prescribing GAD patients, psychotropic influence treatments known cardiac conduction pathways.

    P Wave Dispersion in Patients with Generalised Anxiety Disorder · 2026 · DOI

  • The previous sponsor conducted in vitro and in vivo studies with conflicting data regarding the relative potencies of ecop- ipam and EBS- 101- 40853 [13, 14].

    Ecopipam, a Dopamine <scp>D1</scp> Receptor Antagonist: Pharmacokinetics, Mass Balance, and Metabolism in Healthy Volunteers · 2026 · DOI

  • These medications can be effective, but treatment selection is often limited by adverse effects such as sedation, weight gain, metabolic effects, akathisia, extrapyramidal symptoms, prolactin elevation, hypotension, and electrocardiographic concerns [1-3]. Instead, they suggest that cariprazine may warrant further systematic study in select TS patients with overlapping tic, mood, and behavioral symptoms, particularly when conventional dopamine-blocking treatment has been limited by adverse effects or incomplete response [7].

    Marked Improvement of Chronic Motor and Phonic Tics With Cariprazine in an Adult With Tourette Syndrome With Comorbid Bipolar Disorder: A Case Report · 2026 · DOI

  • However, its clinical utility is limited by a high propensity for extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) and tardive dyskinesia, reserving its use primarily for patients with TR-OCD with comorbid tic disorders [70].

    Efficacy of Antipsychotic Augmentation Therapy in Treatment-Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • Findings suggest that both VPHP and residential treatment for OCD are effective forms of care, and future research should consider how demographic factors may influence treatment access and preferences.

    Baseline characteristics and treatment outcomes for people accessing a virtual partial hospital program versus a residential program for obsessive-compulsive disorder · 2025 · DOI

  • • Intensive CBT is delivered through more or longer sessions in a shorter time span • This may aid youth with severe problems but acceptance/feasibility are understudied • Symptom improvement and remission were similar in intensive vs.

    Intensive treatments for children and adolescents with anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis · 2024 · DOI

  • Preliminary work suggests that it is influential in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but no studies have investigated the importance of social support as it relates to readiness to change (RTC, a relevant variable in treatment-seeking populations.

    Social support in obsessive-compulsive disorder: The relationships between social support and readiness to change · 2024 · DOI

  • In this respect, agomelatine and metformin may represent particularly interesting candidates; however, further clinical studies are warranted to establish these as singular or complementary medications in OCD subjects.

    Potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for obsessive compulsive disorder · 2023 · DOI

  • Conclusion:The researches on the concept of TAF, whose importance has begun to be noticed with current approaches, and the limited information obtained, cause the additional methods that can be applied in this field to be limited.

    The Relationship of OCD and OCD Symptoms with the Thought Action Fusion in Children and Adolescents during the Pandemic Period · 2023 · DOI

  • While many therapies, including behavioral therapy, have been speculated to be beneficial in treating PMS, there is little known regarding their effectiveness [Costales, J.

    Opportunities for ABA intervention in Phelan–McDermid syndrome · 2021 · DOI

  • As one of the first DTI study comparing structural brain differences between CSBD, addictions and OCD, although it reveals new aspects of CSBD, it is insufficient to determine whether CSBD resembles more an addiction or OCD.

    White matter microstructural and Compulsive Sexual Behaviors Disorder – Diffusion Tensor Imaging study · 2021 · DOI

  • Emotional processing and inhibitory learning (IL) have both been proposed as viable mechanisms of exposure for the alleviation of HA, yet the relationship with INC remains unclear.

    Inducing and manipulating sensations of incompleteness · 2020 · DOI

  • However, little is known of how these different versions of the PI compare to each other in their sensitivity to measuring treatment outcome, and there is currently no adequate explanation to account for the weak relationships between self-report measures and the Y-BOCS.

    The Sensitivity of Three Versions of the Padua Inventory to Measuring Treatment Outcome and Their Relationship to the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale · 2018 · DOI

  • Because detailed descriptions of the application of this treatment modality for patients with OCD are scarce, the authors report a case study to illustrate the content of this form of therapy.

    Metacognitive therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A case report · 2018 · DOI

  • Future research should explore whether reports of comorbidity between ADHD and OC symptoms may be inflated due to misdiagnosis of absorption tendencies as ADHD.

    Dissociative absorption, mind‐wandering, and attention‐deficit symptoms: Associations with obsessive‐compulsive symptoms · 2018 · DOI

  • However, manipulations of NJREs have focused on the visual system, and have not been examined in the context of arousal fears associated with anxiety sensitivity (AS).

    The Relationship Between Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms, Perfectionism, and Anxiety Sensitivity for Not Just Right Experiences · 2017 · DOI

  • While correlational data provide some support for the relationship between cognitive appraisal domains and OCD symptoms, results are inconclusive, and experimental methods are warranted to determine the precise causal relationship between specific cognitive appraisal domains and OCD symptoms.

    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Paediatric and Adult Samples: Nature, Treatment and Cognitive Processes. A Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature · 2017 · DOI

  • BACKGROUND: While the ethio-pathogenesis of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD) remains unknown, there is increased evidence of widespread structural alterations in both white and gray matter in OCD patients that include, but are not restricted, to abnormalities in cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) regions.

    Alterations of gray and white matter morphology in obsessive compulsive disorder · 2017 · DOI

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is recommended for OCD but may need modification in children and adolescents with ASD because of cognitive differences, but guidance for therapists planning CBT for OCD in young people with ASD is sparse.

    Modified <scp>CBT</scp> for Treatment of <scp>OCD</scp> in a 7‐Year‐Old Boy With <scp>ASD</scp>—A Case Report · 2014 · DOI

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147 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 1,907 Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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