Research into twins and families demonstrated that OCD is highly heritable, and that OCD is linked to malfunctioning synapses (gaps between neurons through which information and neurotransmitters flow) in the brain.
This study by Dr. Rouleau and his team aimed to look at the entire genetic set of people with OCD to identify specific mutations. The team focused on exons (a gene region that can contain information for making proteins), aiming to determine the DNA sequence of each exon and compare them to find variants that disrupt genes. Finding these variants and comparing them to a larger sample of people with OCD and a control group would give insight into the genetics behind OCD and inform treatment.