# Where memories are severed: hair–memory obsession on the schizo-OCD spectrum and the role of electroconvulsive therapy, a case report - URL: https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/so105 - Language: en - Last updated: not specified - Page title: Where memories are severed: hair–memory obsession on the schizo-OCD spectrum and the role of electroconvulsive therapy, a case report | WCP 2026 Summary > In a treatment-resistant case characterized by the belief that hair loss permanently erased the patient's memories, improvement that could not be achieved with… This page was translated automatically from Turkish. [Read the original](https://alisanburak.com/wcp-2026-posterler/so105) This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it. SO105 Brief Oral Poster PresentationPsychosis and SchizophreniaCase Report # Where memories are severed: hair–memory obsession on the schizo-OCD spectrum and the role of electroconvulsive therapy, a case report WHERE MEMORIES ARE CLIPPED: HAIR-MEMORY FIXATION IN THE SCHIZO-OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER SPECTRUM AND THE ROLE OF ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY—A CASE REPORT Presenter: Merve Çaral Country: Turkey Institution: Kocaeli University Research and Application Hospital, Department of Psychiatry Session: 2790 - PARALLEL SHORT ORAL POSTER SESSIONS: PSYCHOSIS & SCHIZOPHRENIA - Part II Date: Thu, 24.09.2026 In a treatment-resistant case characterized by the belief that hair loss permanently erased the patient's memories, improvement that could not be achieved with high-dose pharmacotherapy was obtained after seven sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. Drawing on the cross-cultural view of hair as a bearer of identity, strength, and memory, this study aims to explore, through a case report, how perceived hair loss can pave the way for a transition to the schizo-obsessive-compulsive disorder (schizo-OCD) spectrum, in which obsessions evolve into ego-syntonic delusions of permanent identity loss. The case concerns a 20-year-old male patient hospitalized for escalating self-harm, aggression, and severe preoccupation with hair loss, with a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) beginning at age seven and resistant to numerous pharmacological trials. Independent interviewers conducted the assessment according to DSM-5 criteria, the MMPI and Rorschach tests were administered, and written informed consent for publication was obtained from the patient. The patient believed that hair loss meant the permanent loss of his positive memories and personality, describing this as a feeling of having been erased. The MMPI findings indicated decompensated OCD, while the Rorschach analysis, with minus-form (F−) responses, suggested a fragmented self-structure, marked deviation from external reality, and impaired reality testing. Despite titration of fluoxetine to 80 mg/day and aripiprazole to 30 mg/day, no response was observed. Marked clinical improvement emerged only after seven sessions of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), in the form of increased social engagement and reduced severity of delusional preoccupations. The poster also discusses a mechanism whereby chronic psychological stress may elevate cortisol through the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, disrupting the hair growth cycle and prematurely shifting follicles into the telogen phase. In conclusion, given the absence of a separate schizo-OCD category in DSM-5, the authors propose an approach that takes dimensional and archetypal contexts into account, noting that ECT was pivotal in breaking cognitive rigidity in this presentation characterized by the collapse of internal boundaries. [View the original poster](https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/wcp26/attendee/eposter/file/976) How to cite this study APA 7: Çaral, M., et al. (2026, September 24). Where memories are clipped: hair-memory fixation in the schizo-obsessive compulsive disorder spectrum and the role of electroconvulsive therapy—a case report [Poster presentation]. 26th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry (WCP 2026), Stockholm, Sweden. https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/wcp26/attendee/eposter/file/976 Vancouver: Çaral M, et al. Where memories are clipped: hair-memory fixation in the schizo-obsessive compulsive disorder spectrum and the role of electroconvulsive therapy—a case report [poster]. 26th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry (WCP 2026); 2026 Sep 23-26; Stockholm, Sweden. 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