Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

and Aerobic Exercise

EPHE 441
Alisha Wong
 What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
● Chronic anxiety disorder
● Characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts and repetitive
behaviours
● Increased negative affect
○ Depression and fear
● Decreased positive affect
○ Energy and self-assurance
● Greater avoidance behaviour vs. approach behaviour
Physiology of OCD

● Serotonin (neurotransmitter)
○ Regulates mood, behaviour, anxiety, and happiness
● Linked to disfunction in the brain’s serotonin system
● Hypersensitive postsynaptic serotonin receptors
● Dysruption in the genes encoding for serotonin transporters and
receptors
● Low levels of serotonin
Current Treatments

● Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)

○ Exposure and response prevention

● Pharmacotherapy treatment

○ Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor medications

(SSRI)
Aerobic Exercise Treatment

● 150 minutes of moderate intensity (64-76% of age

predicted HR max) exercise per week
● 12 week exercise intervention
supplementary to current
treatment
 Changes in OCD symptoms
following exercise:

● Decrease in negative affect

● Increase in positive affect

● Greater approach behaviour

○ Enhanced mood

○ Decrease in anxiety

Fig. 1. (a) Acute changes in mood before and after exercise and
(b) acute changes in anxiety before and after exercise.
(Abrantes et al., 2009).
 Changes in OCD
symptoms following
exercise:

● Improvements in
obsessive and
compulsive
behaviour

Fig. 2. (a) Acute changes in obsessions before and after exercise.

(b) Acute changes in compulsions before and after exercise.
(Abrantes et al., 2009).
Physiological Changes due to Exercise

● Increase in tryptophan, serotonin precursor

○ Increasing rate of serotonin synthesis
● Increased firing rates of serotonin neurons
○ Increasing release of serotonin
● Down regulation of postsynaptic serotonin receptors
○ Increase serotonin levels
● May have comparable benefits to SSRI medications
Can exercise be negative?

● Participants did not find that exercising triggered OCD

symptoms
● However, it is possible to develop an obsessive and
unhealthy preoccupation with exercise
● Further research of the risk for exercise dependence
among individuals with OCD is needed