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The motor profile of obsessive-compulsive rituals: psychopathological and evolutionary implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2022

Matteo Tonna Open the ORCID record for Matteo Tonna [Opens in a new window] ,
Rebecca Ottoni Open the ORCID record for Rebecca Ottoni [Opens in a new window] ,
Clara Pellegrini ,
Lorenzo Mora ,
Luca Gambolo ,
Anna Di Donna ,
Stefano Parmigiani  and
Carlo Marchesi
Matteo Tonna*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Rebecca Ottoni
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy
Clara Pellegrini
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy
Lorenzo Mora
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Luca Gambolo
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Anna Di Donna
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Stefano Parmigiani
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Unit of Behavioral Biology, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Carlo Marchesi
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
*
*Author for correspondence: Matteo Tonna, MD, PhD Email: matteo.tonna@unipr.it
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Abstract

Background

Studies investigating obsessive-compulsive disorder from an ethological approach have highlighted a specific motor pattern of compulsive rituals with respect to corresponding ordinary behaviors. Particularly, compulsive motor profile is built through the repetition of acts, with prevalence of nonfunctional ones and redirection of attention to its basic structural units. These formal features would characterize ritual behavior throughout evolution, from nonhuman animals to human cultures. However, no study to date has investigated a possible relationship between such motor profile and underlying psychopathology. Therefore, the first objective of the study was to confirm previous findings on a larger sample size of obsessive patients; the second objective was to elucidate whether motor profile might be associated with obsessive-compulsive psychopathology and/or prepsychotic symptoms of schizophrenia.

Methods

Twenty-one obsessive-compulsive outpatients provided a videotape of their rituals. An equal number of healthy controls, matched for sex and age, were registered for corresponding ordinary acts. Obsessive patients were administered the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and the Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire.

Results

The results of the present study confirm that ritual compulsions present a specific motor structure characterized by repetition of both functional and nonfunctional acts and their longer duration. Such a motor pattern is independent from obsessive-compulsive psychopathology, whereas it results specifically associated with prepsychotic symptoms of schizophrenia.

Conclusions

We argue that this association may reflect the adaptive significance of ritual behavior across evolution, that is, its homeostatic function in conditions of unpredictability.

Keywords

Compulsionsevolutionobsessive-compulsive disorderprepsychotic symptomsritual behaviorschizophreniaunpredictability
Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , August 2023 , pp. 441 - 449
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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