The Neurobiology and Development of Compulsive Hoarding and Its Relationship to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Compulsive hoarding disorder (CHD) is a psychological phenomenon in which the individual's created environment is a product of their internal state. Currently, CHD is generally considered to fall under the umbrella of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, recent neuropsychological evidence supports the hypothesis that CHD may best be characterized as a disorder separate from other forms of OCD. Not only does functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) data show that compulsive hoarding may be a neurobiologically discreet syndrome, but recent evidence from genetic studies as well as inquiry into the development of pathological hoarding leads to findings that may implicate a distinct disorder with specific neuropsychological impairments. Thus far, CHD has been explored primarily within the confines of OCD, and therefore, the neurobiology and development of this syndrome will be discussed within this context. This review seeks to integrate the previous research in CHD with the most recent findings to create a thorough overview of this pathology.