Figure 1. Effect of stimulus contact and subsequent hand washing on RSA in OCD patients with washing compulsions vs. non-patient controls.

To index activation of the security motivation system, RSA change was computed as baseline RSA minus RSA level; thus, increases in the index correspond to greater activation Fixed wash was limited to 30 s; free wash was as long as the participant wanted. Note: * p<.05 vs. controls at the same time of measurement. Error bars represent 1 SE.