Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Called Body Dysmorphic Disorder -- or BDD -- Has Biological Link

Do you know someone who is constantly looks at themselves in the mirror? On the other hand, maybe the person avoids mirrors altogether. The person could be someone close to you or it could be you.

According to a press release on Newswise.com, UCLA Healthcare has published an article in the December journal of Archives of General Psychiatry that details conclusions from their study about the possible biological link to BDD (body dysmorphic disorder). BDD is a condition that afflicts about two percent of the population. It is more common in people who are already obsessive-compulsive. Thirty percent of the people who have BDD also have an eating disorder. Many of those who repeatedly have cosmetic surgery do so because they have this disorder.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a disorder that can cause a lot of trauma in the lives of those who suffer from it. Patients with BDD commonly focus on an aspect of their face or body and obsess over it. The disorder causes deep depression and anxiety and persons who are afflicted usually report that the disorder causes disruptions in their daily life.

Dr. Jamie Feusner is the the chief investigator and assistant professor of psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute. Feusner states that the study's research shows that there is no problem with the brain "hardware" of the person with BDD, but that the "operating software" is faulty. The press release quotes Dr. Feusner as saying, " now that we've identified a possible physical cause, down the road we may be able to pinpoint ways that patient's brains can be retrained to perceive faces more accurately."

One of the aspects the researchers studied was whether persons with BDD only saw their own facial/body flaws or if they also interpreted what they saw in others in the same way as they viewed their own real or imagined "flaws". A technology called Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging was used to scan the brain so that researchers could evaluate how the persons with BDD processed the information when they viewed faces of others.