ABSTRACT
A number of experimental studies have demonstrated that, in obsessive patients, diminishing responsibility implies weakened preoccupation and less urgency to carry out compulsive checking rituals. Some studies demonstrate that a hypertrophic sense of responsibility predicts relapses in obsessive-compulsive disorder and the appearance of obsessive symptoms post-partum. Obsessive patients are often worried about committing religious sins or sins against sexual morality, even if no one is harmed. When compared to healthy subjects, obsessive patients showed reduced activation of the anterior cingulate cortex, the insula, and the precuneus when they process stimuli related to deontological guilt. Obsessive patients expect much more than other patients, that, if their fears were to be realised, they would find themselves facing aggressive and contemptuous expressions. Disgust and the fear of contamination are among the proximate psychological determinants of some obsessive symptoms, particularly washing compulsions.
