Advancing Dimensional Characterisation and Therapeutic Approaches to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: An Investigation of Neurocognitive Phenotyping and Emerging Behavioural Interventions

Subclinical OCD impact almost a quarter of people at some point in their life, persist for long periods of time and are associated with significant psychosocial impairments. However, current psychiatric systems for categorising psychopathology are not designed to recognise people experiencing milder subclinical symptoms and the diagnostic categories do not map onto underlying mechanisms. In line with this, there are not any current evidence-based early interventions or interventions tailored to precisely target mechanisms. Thus, this thesis investigated the underlying neurocognitive and trait mechanisms of OCD symptoms and examined the combination of physical and cognitive training to target these neurocognitive drivers.