Emeritus Fellow appears on Channel 5 documentary
Professor Trevor Robbins, Emeritus Fellow, was featured in a Channel 5 documentary Do You Have OCD?, which was broadcast on Tuesday 7 April 2026.
The documentary follows four people as they reveal the hidden realities of living with OCD.
An expert in cognitive and behavioural neuroscience, Professor Robbins is interviewed about his research into OCD, which suggests that it could be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.
The documentary highlights the use of brain scans, carried out at the Clinical School's Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, to measure the concentrations of glutamate and GABA, the brain's primary excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters.
In non-OCD brains, these chemicals regulate our brain circuits. In Professor Robbins’ words: “Glutamate turns the circuits on and GABA puts the brakes on”.
It’s been found that in OCD brains, there is an excess of glutamate and a reduction of GABA. This means that for people who have OCD, the circuits are turned on permanently when stressed, with nothing to stop them from getting stuck in repetitive loops.
Professor Robbins said: "These overexcited regions of the brain are expressing the repetitive behaviours and the symptoms of OCD".
The programme can still be viewed on the Channel 5 website. Professor Robbins (and Downing) appears from 10.06.
Published 9 April 2026