Glutamate and OCD: The Excitatory Imbalance | MindLAB

Glutamate, GABA, and OCD — The Chemical Imbalance That Keeps Your Brain Hyperactive The relationship between glutamate and OCD is fundamentally a story of cortical hyperexcitation. 7-Tesla magnetic resonance spectroscopy has detected elevated glutamate and reduced GABA in the anterior cingulate cortex of individuals with OCD. The imbalance produces sustained firing in cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical loops — the circuits whose terminations a healthy brain can release. ...

May 5, 2026 · 14 min · 2879 words · Dr. Sydney Ceruto