OCD behavior therapy before and after gamma ventral capsulotomy: Case report

We report the case of a patient requiring gamma ventral capsulotomy (GVC), a neurosurgical intervention to address severe refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). GVC involves stereotactic lesions in the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule and adjacent ventral striatum. This study d...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurocase 2014-01, Vol.20 (1-2), p.42-45
Main Authors: SPOFFORD, Christopher M, MCLAUGHLIN, Nicole C. R, PENZEL, Fred, RASMUSSEN, Steven A, GREENBERG, Benjamin D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Combined Modality Therapy
Extinction, Psychological
Humans
Internal Capsule - surgery
Male
Medical sciences
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - surgery
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - therapy
Obsessive-compulsive disorders
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Radiosurgery
Treatment Outcome
Treatments
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We report the case of a patient requiring gamma ventral capsulotomy (GVC), a neurosurgical intervention to address severe refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). GVC involves stereotactic lesions in the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule and adjacent ventral striatum. This study details the course of an extinction-based behavioral therapy, namely exposure and response prevention (ERP). The patient experienced significant changes in motivation and ability to tolerate ERP post-surgery. Furthermore, he was better able to absorb and remember exposure sessions. GVC surgery may affect the neural mechanisms involved in the extinction learning process, the same process implicated in ERP treatment.
ISSN:1355-4794
1465-3656
DOI:10.1080/13554794.2012.732083