Memory bias in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

There is a memory bias associated with depression, and good reason to expec t a memory bias associated with anxiety. However, the results of studies re ported to date have been ambiguous. Accordingly, an experiment was conducte d to assess memory for contamination in people with different types of anxi ety. Memory for contaminated stimuli among participants who met DSM-IV criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and indicated a fear of contaminati on (n = 10) was compared to memory in a group of anxious controls (n = 10), and in undergraduate students (n = 20). Participants were shown 50 objects , 25 of which were contaminated by the experimenter and 25 which were touch ed but not contaminated. They then completed a neuropsychological memory as sessment, after which the participants were asked to recall all of the obje cts touched by the experimenter. They were then asked to approach each obje ct and to rate their anxiety about touching it. Finally, participants were asked about their perceptions of the cleanliness of each object. The OCD group had better memory for contaminated objects than for clean one s. Neither control group showed such a bias. Neuropsychological test scores indicated that this bias is not the result of differences in general memor y ability. The results are discussed in terms of the memory-deficit theory of OCD and of behavioural and cognitive approaches to understanding the rol e of information processing in fear and anxiety. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.