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Is "not just right experience" (NJRE) in obsessive-compulsive disorder part of an autistic phenotype?

Hellriegel, J; Barber, C; Wikramanayake, M; Fineberg, NA; Mandy, W; (2017) Is "not just right experience" (NJRE) in obsessive-compulsive disorder part of an autistic phenotype? CNS Spectrums , 22 (1) pp. 41-50. 10.1017/S1092852916000511. Green open access

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Harm avoidance (HA) and "not just right experience" (NJRE) have been proposed to be 2 core motivational processes underlying obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The objective of this study was to explore whether NJRE demarcates a neurodevelopmental OCD subgroup distinct from HA related to autistic traits and/or to a broader phenotype of cognitive rigidity and sensory processing difficulties associated with an earlier age of OCD onset. METHODS: A correlational design investigated whether NJRE and HA are distinct entities in OCD and explored their relationship to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits measured by the Autism Quotient (AQ), sensory processing, set-shifting, and age of OCD onset in an OCD sample (N=25). RESULTS: NJRE was only moderately (r=.34) correlated to HA and not significant in this study. Consistent with predictions, NJRE was associated with sensory processing difficulties and an earlier age of OCD onset. No significant relationships were found between NJRE and ASD traits as measured by the AQ or set-shifting difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings suggest a lack of evidence demonstrating NJRE as a manifestation of core autistic traits as measured by the AQ. However, NJRE was associated with sensory abnormalities and an earlier age of OCD onset. The role of NJRE as a developmental, and possibly neurodevelopmental, risk factor for OCD possibly warrants further investigation.

Type: Article
Title: Is "not just right experience" (NJRE) in obsessive-compulsive disorder part of an autistic phenotype?
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1017/S1092852916000511
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1092852916000511
Language: English
Additional information: This article has been published in a revised form in CNS Spectrums https://doi.org/10.1017/S1092852916000511. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © Cambridge University Press 2016.
Keywords: Age of obsessive-compulsive disorder onset, autistic traits, harm avoidance, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sensory processing, set-shifting, “not just right experience”
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1529644
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