Phenomenology, etiology, and the religious counterpart of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

This thesis reviewed the current state of research, including methodology, on the phenomenology and etiology of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), in addition to investigating predictors of its religious counterpart - scrupulosity. This thesis is organized into two theoretical chapters, two psychometric chapters, one empirical chapter, and one summary chapter. The first theoretical chapter introduced OCD as a diagnostic entity, and analyzed symptom structure and conceptualization of the disorder’s heterogeneous symptoms. Chapter three, and first psychometric chapter, critically reviewed commonly used assessment methods of OCD in adults. The second theoretical chapter discussed the cognitive account of OCD’s etiology, including three cognitive-behavioral models, and proposed a synthesis with the neurobiological etiological account of OCD. In the fifth chapter of this thesis, and second psychometric chapter, measures of obsessive beliefs and appraisals were reviewed. The sixth chapter of this thesis, the empirical chapter, examined the relationships between religion, obsessive-compulsive beliefs, and scrupulosity. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure strength of religious faith, maladaptive beliefs, and the tendency to blur thoughts and actions. Significant evidence of predictors and mediating effects in relation to scrupulosity and obsessive beliefs was found and discussed. This is the first study, to my knowledge, that demonstrated significant empirical support for applying cognitive-behavioral theory of obsessions to scrupulosity. The chapter concluded with a consideration of limitations, recommendations for future research, and implications for treatment. Finally, the last chapter provided a general summary of the thesis, including implications for OCD’s conceptualization, measurement, and clinical practice

Male Mating Tactics in Captive Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta): The Influence of Dominance, Markets, and Relationship Quality

Male mating success in a multimale–multifemale group can depend on several variables: body condition, dominance, coalitions, “friendship,” or an exchange of services for mating access. Exchange patterns may also be determined by market effects or social relationships. We studied the mating tactics of males in a captive, multimale–multifemale group of rhesus macaques and the resulting patterns of mating and paternity to determine the influence of dominance rank, mating markets, and relationship quality on their mating tactics. Male rank was positively related to the total number of copulations and the number of mating partners, but did not explain male mating distribution completely. Moreover, male fertilization success was not related to male rank. Males did not exchange grooming for mating access on the same day and neither the supply nor the rank (as a proxy for quality) of receptive females affected the amount of male grooming, suggesting that market effects did not explain male mating access. However, there was a positive correlation between long-term grooming patterns of both males and females and mating access, indicating that social relationships were important for male mating access. Paternity data revealed that these social relationships were also important for male reproductive success. We conclude that both male rank and male–female “friendship” determined male mating access in these rhesus macaques, but that “friendship” was more important in determining paternity, emphasizing the importance of intersex social bonds in male mating success in multimale primate societies

The desmosome and pemphigus

Desmosomes are patch-like intercellular adhering junctions (“maculae adherentes”), which, in concert with the related adherens junctions, provide the mechanical strength to intercellular adhesion. Therefore, it is not surprising that desmosomes are abundant in tissues subjected to significant mechanical stress such as stratified epithelia and myocardium. Desmosomal adhesion is based on the Ca2+-dependent, homo- and heterophilic transinteraction of cadherin-type adhesion molecules. Desmosomal cadherins are anchored to the intermediate filament cytoskeleton by adaptor proteins of the armadillo and plakin families. Desmosomes are dynamic structures subjected to regulation and are therefore targets of signalling pathways, which control their molecular composition and adhesive properties. Moreover, evidence is emerging that desmosomal components themselves take part in outside-in signalling under physiologic and pathologic conditions. Disturbed desmosomal adhesion contributes to the pathogenesis of a number of diseases such as pemphigus, which is caused by autoantibodies against desmosomal cadherins. Beside pemphigus, desmosome-associated diseases are caused by other mechanisms such as genetic defects or bacterial toxins. Because most of these diseases affect the skin, desmosomes are interesting not only for cell biologists who are inspired by their complex structure and molecular composition, but also for clinical physicians who are confronted with patients suffering from severe blistering skin diseases such as pemphigus. To develop disease-specific therapeutic approaches, more insights into the molecular composition and regulation of desmosomes are required