Developing Effective Response Inhibition Training for Symptom Relief in Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders and Trichotillomania

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and its related disorders (e.g., trichotillomania) are characterized by the marked difficulty in inhibiting unwanted or inappropriate responses. There is compelling evidence that poor response inhibition is a core cognitive feature of OCD and its related disorders, but no effective intervention exists that directly attempts to address this problematic cognitive deficiency. This study will examine the feasibility and clinical utility of a computerized cognitive training program designed to improve response inhibition among individuals diagnosed with OCD or trichotillomania.This training program offers systematic practice of response inhibition in the form of a 40-level computer game. Individuals with these conditions will be randomized to either 8 sessions of (a) computerized response inhibition training (RIT) or (b) placebo computer training (PLT). We hypothesize that RIT will outperform PLT in improving response inhibition capabilities and reducing relevant clinical symptoms. In sum, this project is expected to generate important knowledge to guide the development of effective computer-based treatment approaches that may help reduce critical problems of existing treatments such as suboptimal patient retention and treatment under-utilization, thereby improving overall treatment response rates among individuals suffering from OCD and related conditions.