Serotonergic responsivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Comparison of patients and healthy controls |
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Authors: | J Zohar E A Mueller T R Insel R C Zohar-Kadouch D L Murphy |
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Institution: | Laboratory of Clinical Science, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892. |
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Abstract: | To examine the "serotonin hypothesis" of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we studied the behavioral and neuroendocrine effects of metachlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), a serotonergic agonist, in patients with OCD and healthy controls. Twelve patients and 20 controls were given a single dose of 0.5 mg/kg of mCPP, administered orally under double-blind, placebo-controlled, random-assignment conditions. Following mCPP, but not following placebo, patients with OCD experienced a transient but marked exacerbation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Moreover, compared with healthy controls, patients exhibited greater other behavioral (but not endocrinologic or thermal) changes after mCPP. These findings are consistent with a special role for the neurotransmitter serotonin in OCD psychopathology. |
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