Properties (10)
- (Webber et al., 2014)
- purpleRed
Pediatric misophonia with comorbid obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorders
Status:: #status/Bare-bones-review
Metadata
- Item Type: #journalArticle
- Authors: Troy A. Webber, Patricia L. Johnson, Eric A. Storch
- Date: 03/2014
- Date Added: 2020-01-15
- URL: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0163834313003101
- DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2013.10.018
- Cite key: webberPediatricMisophoniaComorbid2014
- Topics: primary Resources
- Tags: #Misophonia, #Article-review, #added-to-Misophonia-data-base, #Fully-reviewd, #noted, #reviewed, #to-be-annotated, #tags-need-to-be-checked, #zotero, #literature-notes, #reference
- PDF Attachments
Abstract
Objective: Misophonia is a potentially debilitating condition characterized by increased sensitivity to specific sounds, which cause subsequent behavioral and emotional responses. The nature, clinical phenomenology and etiology of misophonia remain unclear, and misophonic clinical presentations are not currently accounted for by existing psychiatric or audiological disorders.
Zotero links
Article Review table
| Background/Purpose | Background- • Misophonia is increasingly recognized as a clinical condition but lacks formal diagnostic criteria. • It is distinguished from other auditory disorders by its selectivity and often comorbid presentation with psychiatric disorders. • Patients frequently report emotional and behavioral dysregulation in response to specific stimuli. • Evidence suggests overlap with OCD and TS in phenomenology and possibly neurobiology. Purpose- • To present a detailed case report of a pediatric patient ("Jill") diagnosed with misophonia, OCD, and TS. • To explore theoretical and clinical implications of comorbid misophonia and obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorders. • To discuss neurobiological underpinnings and potential treatment approaches for misophonia. |
| Participants/samples | • Single case study of a 10-year-old female referred for chronic tic treatment. • No autism spectrum disorder pathology detected. • Comorbid diagnoses included OCD and ADHD. |
| Measures | • Behavioral: Motor and vocal tic manifestations; hoarding; ritualistic and routinized behavior. • Subjective reports: Emotional and behavioral responses to sensory stimuli (auditory, visual, tactile). |
| Procedures | Stimuli: • Auditory: Specific songs, high-pitched voices. • Visual: Fluorescent lights. • Tactile: Clothing textures (socks, underwear). Task/Experiment Description: • Evaluation through a semi-structured clinical interview by a licensed psychologist. • Observations centered on sensory sensitivity and resultant behavioral rituals and impairments. |
| Results | • The patient reported pronounced distress and behavioral outbursts in response to misophonic triggers. • Exhibited compulsive behaviors in response to tactile and auditory stimuli (e.g., dressing rituals). • Avoidance and demand behaviors were observed in response to auditory triggers. • Sensory sensitivities extended to multiple modalities (visual, auditory, tactile). |
| Discussion/Limits | Conclusion- • Misophonia may be conceptualized as an aversive disorder, with triggers provoking discomfort (distinct from fear-based obsessions in OCD). • It likely shares neurobiological substrates with OCD and TS, particularly dysfunctions in the limbic system, basal ganglia, and auditory cortex. • Dopaminergic and serotonergic dysregulation are implicated in misophonia, OCD, and TS, potentially explaining comorbid presentations. |
| Limitations:: | • Based on a single case study; findings are not generalizable. • Current treatment evidence for misophonia is sparse and inconsistent. |
| Future Directions:: | • Screening for misophonia in OCD-spectrum disorders is recommended. • Further research into misophonia's presence in ASD is warranted, despite lack of ASD pathology in this case. • Need for randomized controlled trials to assess efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacological treatments. • CBT strategies should include exposure to both proximal and distal sound characteristics. |
| Relevance:: | • an old study looking at the possible link between OCD and Misophonia using a case study of a single kid. • very outdated and liekly not all that useful |
My notes
key terms
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Misophonia – A condition marked by strong negative emotional and behavioral reactions to specific auditory (e.g., chewing, breathing) and sometimes visual (misokinesia) or tactile stimuli, distinct from other auditory disorders such as hyperacusis and tinnitus.
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Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – A psychiatric disorder characterized by intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) performed to alleviate anxiety.
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Tourette Syndrome (TS) – A neurodevelopmental disorder involving repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics.
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Misokinesia – Discomfort or distress triggered by repetitive visual stimuli (e.g., leg shaking or rocking).
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Obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorders – A cluster of disorders that share features with OCD, including TS and body dysmorphic disorder.
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Dopaminergic and serotonergic systems – Neurotransmitter systems implicated in emotional regulation and compulsive behavior; suspected to underlie misophonia, OCD, and TS due to their presence in limbic and basal ganglia regions.
Misc notes
Clinical implications:
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Importance of distinguishing misophonia from OCD due to different emotional processing (disgust vs. fear).
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Behavioral parallels (e.g., avoidance) can guide treatment via exposure-based CBT.
Neurobiological themes:
- The interconnectedness of auditory processing, emotional regulation, and compulsivity via shared brain regions suggests a systems-level model for misophonia and related disorders.
Therapeutic recommendations:
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While early evidence for CBT and SSRIs in misophonia is mixed, shared pathways with OCD and TS support the rationale for their use.
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Effective treatments may require targeting both sensory processing and emotional regulation systems.
Zettlekasten
Webber 2014 on the OCD-Misophonia link and potential shared neurological underpinnings
Misophonia as a spectrum disorder
In a 2026 study, Hansen emphasized the conceptualization of misophonia as a spectrum disorder on the rationale that symptom severity varies continuously in the general population and that neural connectivity differences were detectable only when misophonia was modeled dimensionally rather than categorically. Binary group comparisons failed to reveal significant effects, whereas continuous severity scores were associated with systematic variation in anterior insula connectivity. This supports the view that treating misophonia as present versus absent obscures meaningful variability in neural and behavioral expression (Hansen et al., 2026).
Misophonia as a spectrum disorder
In a 2026 study, Hansen emphasized the conceptualization of misophonia as a spectrum disorder on the rationale that symptom severity varies continuously in the general population and that neural connectivity differences were detectable only when misophonia was modeled dimensionally rather than categorically. Binary group comparisons failed to reveal significant effects, whereas continuous severity scores were associated with systematic variation in anterior insula connectivity. This supports the view that treating misophonia as present versus absent obscures meaningful variability in neural and behavioral expression (Hansen et al., 2026).