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Along the fringes of Agency: neurodevelopmental account of the obsessive mind

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2021

Michele Poletti Open the ORCID record for Michele Poletti [Opens in a new window] ,
Eva Gebhardt  and
Andrea Raballo
Michele Poletti*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addiction, Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Service, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Eva Gebhardt
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, ASL Roma 4, Roma, Italy
Andrea Raballo
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy Center for Translational, Phenomenological and Developmental Psychopathology (CTPDP), Perugia University Hospital, Perugia, Italy
*
*Address correspondence to: Dr. Michele Poletti Email: michele.poletti2@ausl.re.it
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Abstract

The experiential core of the obsessive mind rests on subtle, primary mental phenomena (such as obsessions and so called “sensory phenomena”) which precede and trigger behavioral compulsions. Converging evidence supports a possible pathophysiological role for altered corollary discharge (phenotypically expressed in sensorimotor symptoms and contributing to a reduced Sense of Agency [SoA]), in the neurodevelopment of obsessions and “sensory phenomena.” In phenomenological terms, “sensory phenomena” may represent the subjective experiential resonance of an individual history of persistent inaccurate sensory predictions, whereas accompanying manifestations, such as the obsessive need for order and symmetry, may represent a compensatory attempt to mitigate “sensory phenomena” (eg, by increasing the sensory predictability of the surrounding world). Since disturbances of both SoA and Sense of Ownership have been thematized as potential pathogenetic factors in the neurodevelopment of the psychotic mind, a dimensional account of altered sensorimotor prediction may partly explain the affinities (and high comorbidity) between obsessive–compulsive disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Keywords

Obsessive–compulsive disordersensory phenomenacorollary dischargeSense of Agencyschizophrenia spectrum disordersneurodevelopment
Type
Perspective
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , October 2022 , pp. 557 - 560
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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