I've read on a couple of threads some speculations that Adrian will be very different when he's lost his memory, they he won't have OCD and he'll be more like he was in Drunk and Medicine.

I sort of don't think so. I may be wrong, but I think they wouldn't try going back to that same sort of storyline too often, I think this one will be a little bit more different. I don't think he'll forget OCD, though he might forget the diagnosis, just not the behaviors. It will be sort of like starting all over again, don't you think? Like before I was diagnosed with ADD, I knew I was different but I didn't know why I was different, I couldn't explain why I couldn't focus my attention. So he will have these urges, complusions to fix things, to put things together and make things the way his mind tells him they should be, but not have any idea why he needs things to line up and be perfect and straight and I imagine it will bother him even more when he doesn't know why than it did when he had a name and a reason for it. He will probably be even more frightened because he doesn't know who he is or why he is the way he is, and it will make it very easy for him to accept that he is Laurie Metcalf's character's husband, in spite of the things he would normally notice and that would tell him otherwise, like she might not have men's clothes at her house, and if she does, they might not be the right size or like the ones he is wearing when she finds him and he will have a natural preference for his own clothes, even if he doesn't know why. He will just want so badly to know who he is and to believe her when she says she knows him and who he will really try to buy it.

The part in the commercial for the upcoming episodes where the waitress is asking him if he's alright looks very promising for Tony's acting skills to shine, the look on his face when she asks is perfect. Like he just really doesn't know if he is alright ort even how to define 'alright' and it terrifies him.

A few days ago Teresa posted a link to an article, in which Tony said it will be as if Monk meets himself for the first time and he doesn't know why he has an urge to detect things or sth like that, so you're probably right. We'll see.
I wonder what all the others will say when they find him in a foreign town married to this woman, will they think he got married since he disappeared? Will he recognise them? Or maybe they don't meet at all until he finds out the truth. I can't wait.

A couple questions here, Liv:

Are you speculating that OCD traits are inborn? That one is doomed if s/he has inherited only the tendency toward the OCD mental illness? Or, are these traits acquired and stimulated by one's stress level, diet, up-bringing, etc.?

In TAKES HIS MEDICINE, Monk really did not display ANY of his OCD fears/phobias (IMO), which is kind of what I'd expect in BUMPS HIS HEAD... I was surprised to see Monk (even in his disoriented state at that restaurant)--in the preview for BUMPS HIS HEAD--still organizing and arranging those salt and pepper shakers on the table... The difference between Monk in TAKES HIS MEDICINE and BUMPS His Head seems to be that in the first case he still knows who he is and is GLAD (at first) that he does NOT have the hang-ups, fears, and phobias he had had; while in BUMPS HIS HEAD Monk is truly lost since he knows not who he is yet is still (for SOME reason) organizing those salt and pepper shakers by color and size and shape there at the restaurant!?

--Lee
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That is a great prediction MonkFanToo! I think along the smae lines as you do. Monk will still have OCD, but will be so disoriented that he won't truly understand why he must organize and clean.

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Operator: Do you have any wipes?
Monk: I have about 2,000!
Operator: That should be fine.
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But see, are organizing, cleaning, and arranging INBORN tendencies?? I do agree that if one is good at math then even if one gets temporary amnesia, well, one is still good at math; or design; or logic--e.g., solving mysteries (putting puzzles together, too), etc. I can't really buy into the cleaning and organizing (unless maybe he'd seen one waitress at some other table in the restaurant with most all the salt and pepper shakers at/on one table arranging them by full/empty/half empty need to be refilled as well!

--Lee

I think that OCD can be genetic, or due to environment, or experience, or injury, or any combination of the above. That is my personal non expert opinion Also based upon casual observation/memories of people I've known who happened to have OCD.

I think I've even heard of cases in which a bump on the head caused and also 'cured' OCD! It seems if this is the case then the episode may hint that Adrian's OCD was not inborn but was taught to him by his mother - and became his defense mechanism - for instance under extreme stress, i.e. Trudy's death. It's possible anyway, isn't it?

And there's no judgment to be made - it doesn't matter in the end how it happened. He's still Monk.

I think that OCD and some mental illnesses are very often (if not always) a part of a person's genetic makeup and they have the potential to develop these disorders if they are triggered by extreme stress, trauma or illness, but not that they are neccesarilly doomed from birth to having OCD. And diet and upbringing do not cause it, unless the upbringing involved something traumatic such as severe abuse. Stress can certainly aggravate it though. These things may lay dormant all of a person's life and never manifest, or they may appear for short periods of time but not be absolutely disabling. I think Adrian was OCD before, but the trauma of Trudy's murder is what made it so bad that it became disabling. The stress, trauma or problem alters the brain chemistry and way the brain functions, causing the person to have these obsessive thoughts, or seek comfort in compulsive behaviors. Removing the memory of a person won't alter their brain chemistry neccesarilly, especially not right away. And I believe that the processes that cause OCD are different from the ones involved in amnesia, but since I'm not a neuroligist I could be wrong.I've just never heard of or read about a knock on the head causing OCD, so it would seem that a bump on the head wouldn't be likely to make OCD go away.Not to say that a second bump on the head will make amnesia go away, because it won't. And you can't really go by the events in Medicine because medications don't really cause that sort of rapid change in people. But for all we know, Bumps His Head might not be any closer to reality than Medicine was.

My writing seems weird in this post, and my typing is worse, I'm having functional problems of my own at the moment.

I like your analysis of Adrian Liv, and your insights into what makes him tick. I'm hoping this episode will have some juicy dramatic moments, like in Mrs Monk. Tony can shine with his dramatic acting! It sure seems like this particular episode is perfect for that.

Okay this is from The Obsessive Compulsive Foundation web site :
Is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Inherited?

No specific genes for OCD have yet been identified, but research suggests that genes do play a role in the development of the disorder in some cases. Childhood-onset OCD tends to run in families (sometimes in association with tic disorders). When a parent has OCD, there is a slightly increased risk that a child will develop OCD, although the risk is still low. When OCD runs in families, it is the general nature of OCD that seems to be inherited, not specific symptoms. Thus a child may have checking rituals, while his mother washes compulsively.

Also:
What causes Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

There is no single, proven cause of OCD.

Research suggests that OCD involves problems in communication between the front part of the brain (the orbital cortex) and deeper structures (the basal ganglia).

These brain structures use the chemical messenger serotonin. It is believed that insufficient levels of serotonin are prominently involved in OCD. Drugs that increase the brain concentration of serotonin often help improve OCD symptoms.

Now, it would seem that Adrian is going to have Retrograde Amnesia, meaning he won't remember what happened before he hit his head, but there are several different kinds and causes of amnesia ranging from concussion to severe emotional shock, alchoholism, severe malnutrition, Alzhiemers, and even in freezing cold water.

From Medical News Today -

Amnesia is most commonly associated with either brain damage through injury or degeneration of brain cells in dementia. In both cases, brain cells are lost, and due to the complex network connecting cells within the human brain, they cannot be replaced. Most significant brain damage occurs when the brain is injured, such as in a car accident or as the result of a fall or blow.

So the causes of OCD and amnesia are different, taking place (usually) in different parts of the brain. lack of seratonin is thought to have an affect on OCD, and loss or damaged to brain cells causes amnesia most often.

I have a few new images from this episode. Please don't look if you'd rather not know what happens.

Here's a little one that doesn't give away much:

That's Charles Napier as the sheriff.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT SPACE





Well, in next week's TV GUIDE it pretty much spells out that Monk gets knocked out when he's robbed and all is taken but the clothes on his back and his wedding ring when he's dumped out in the middle of nowhere (but still near a small little town)... The write up says Monk does not know why he has "compulsions" (such as, I'm sure, organizing and arranging those salt and pepper shakers in the restaurant) but still goes on to be "the husband" to Laurie Metcalf's character (right up and into the bedroom) and while solving a murder case in the small little town he finds himself in... Don't know if one can call it pure fantasy, but I just don't buy "the compulsions" of his acute OCD lingering on during his temporary amnesia. I do buy the hunt for clues and solving of the small town's murder case, and would probably be better able to buy into the storyline IF little, by little the compulsions (along with bits and pieces of his memory) started to return as time wears on and the days go by.... PLUS, where in the heck are Stottlemeyer, Disher, and Natalie all this time??

--Lee

MonkFan, give the episode a chance will ya?! I think it's going to be one of the funnier ones of the seasonette and you'll enjoy it more if you don't try to read too much into it. All your questions will be answered next week, and trust me, all of the elements are there.

Wow, that's a *very* little picture, Teresa, you're right, doesn't give away much at all, since I can barely see it That smiley's wearing shade more because of my eyesight being wonky than a desire to be cool, BTW.

That first picture had me thinking, 'Oh, yeah, zip it *all* the way up, make sure those zippers are good and tight!' I would freak out in such a major, major way of I was in one of those suits and found out that a zipper hadn't gotten closed all the way or there was a hole in it.

Hey, Adrian's shirt collar is open. It was left open in Cabin Fever too, though. Looks nice.

Lee, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. In the end, it's just fiction.

But yeah, where the heck are those guys? Shouldn't they be looking for him? Probably they are, probably even scared out of their minds (who wouldn't be, really?) but they would probably be looking closer to home. They wouldn't have any reason to think about looking in some tuny tow way out away from San Fransisco would they? I mean if he is mugged by someone who doesn't know him, who takes him way out away from where he lives and dumps him without any ID and then someone else claims him... We don't know what she told the local sherriff, maybe she did have a husband that disappeared and figured Adrian would do to replace him, maybe the locals never met her real husband and believed her. They wouldn't really have a reason to send out reports of a man who doesn'[t know who he is to all the surrounding areas I guess. I don't know how that works. If someone found his wallet in SF without any money or credit cards, it would tell them he was robbed, but not neccesarilly by who or where he was taken, or even *if* he was taken anywhere. Just as much chance that he could be dead or confused and wandering around SF. They're probably looking for him though. I hope they are in this episode, all of the episodes without all four of them seem flat and dull by comparison.

All right Lee, now I'm gonna have to go and buy TV Guide to read that article. I normally watch so little on TV that it's just really not even worth it to me to buy the TV Guide. The two shows that I do watch, I already know when they come on and what is going to be happening in advance, and I don't care about anything else that's on TV enough to bother. This, I think is worth bothering, I just wish I wouldn't have to go out to get it.

Eeek! Sunlight!

Everybody's in it, even Dr. Kroger.

Okay this is from The Obsessive Compulsive Foundation web site :
Is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Inherited?

" When OCD runs in families, it is the general nature of OCD that seems to be inherited, not specific symptoms. Thus a child may have checking rituals, while his mother washes compulsively. " --- I agree here. My mom is into the obsessive cleaning and I have a sister that is into constantly checking to see if doors and gates are locked.

Also:
What causes Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

" These brain structures use the chemical messenger serotonin. It is believed that insufficient levels of serotonin are prominently involved in OCD. Drugs that increase the brain concentration of serotonin often help improve OCD symptoms. " -- I agree with that. Drugs like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil increase serotin and are known to really help people suffering from OCD including myself.

Amnesia is most commonly associated with either brain damage through injury... In both cases, brain cells are lost, and due to the complex network connecting cells within the human brain, they cannot be replaced.

Conclusion: It seems based on the articles posted the lack of serotonin is a known cause of OCD. When Adrian hits his head he loses brains cells so certain connections get lost and he loses his memory on those parts that are disconnected. However it seems the lack of serotonin in his entire brain may always be there esp. if he is not on meds. So it would seem he will find himself with OCD symptoms (he lacks serotonin) and maybe be surprised by it if that is the part of his brain that does not remember he had OCD and it's associated symptoms (amnesia).

OK that was my two cents.

I've heard tell -- it seems to me that the source was archaic, but reliable, but this still would stand verification -- about people with advanced memory disorders, such as alzheimers, and who were nearly catatonic, but who were able to perform physical prodigies. One man, who had been a surgeon, if given surgical silk, would immediately begin tying beautiful surgical knots.

Now, my memory is certainly not what it once was (I think), so consider the source -- but I wouldn't find it implausible for Monk to have no memory and still have OCD.

Ahha, Og, but to what degree?? Since the stress of Trudy's murder (and other stresses in Monk's life) would NOT be remembered or dwelled upon--and no one would be there to try to jog his memory by showing him all the background work, photos, files, etc., he's assembled over the last nine (9) years--would his OCD be minimal (as pre Trudy's murder)? Would he be able to laugh again and only be slightly "wound," maybe cleaning his shoes on a mat 20 times before he enters a house or apartment and is only seen straightening out the glove boxes in cars after washing the windshields???

--Lee