Brain Activation During Response Interference in Twins Discordant or Concordant for Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms

One of the core behavioral features associated with obsessive compulsive symptomatology is the inability to inhibit thoughts and/or behaviors. Neuroimaging studies have indicated abnormalities in frontostriatal and dorsolateral prefrontal – anterior cingulate circuits during inhibitory control in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder compared with controls. In the present study, task performance and brain activation during Stroop color-word and Flanker interference were compared within monozygotic twin pairs discordant for obsessive compulsive symptoms and between groups of pairs scoring very low or very high on obsessive compulsive symptoms, in order to examine the differential impact of non-shared environmental versus genetic risk factors for obsessive compulsive symptomatology on inhibitory control related functional brain activation. Although performance was intact, brain activation during inhibition of distracting information differed between obsessive compulsive symptom high-scoring compared to low-scoring subjects. Regions affected in the discordant group (e.g., temporal and anterior cingulate gyrus) were partly different from those observed to be affected in the concordant groups (e.g., parietal gyrus and thalamus). A robust increase in dorsolateral prefrontal activity during response interference was observed in both the high-scoring twins of the discordant sample and the high-scoring twins of the concordant sample, marking this structure as a possible key region for disturbances in inhibitory control in obsessive compulsive disorder.

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Differential patterns of brain activation between hoarding disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder during executive performance

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291719000515 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 666-673

Author(s):

Maria Suñol ◽

Ignacio Martínez-Zalacaín ◽

Maria Picó-Pérez ◽

Clara López-Solà ◽

Eva Real ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Error Processing ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Hoarding Disorder ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Executive Performance ◽

Response Switching ◽

The Right

AbstractBackgroundPreliminary evidence suggests that hoarding disorder (HD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may show distinct patterns of brain activation during executive performance, although results have been inconclusive regarding the specific neural correlates of their differential executive dysfunction. In the current study, we aim to evaluate differences in brain activation between patients with HD, OCD and healthy controls (HCs) during response inhibition, response switching and error processing.MethodsWe assessed 17 patients with HD, 18 patients with OCD and 19 HCs. Executive processing was assessed inside a magnetic resonance scanner by means of two variants of a cognitive control protocol (i.e. stop- and switch-signal tasks), which allowed for the assessment of the aforementioned executive domains.ResultsOCD patients performed similar to the HCs, differing only in the number of successful go trials in the switch-signal task. However, they showed an anomalous hyperactivation of the right rostral anterior cingulate cortex during error processing in the switch-signal task. Conversely, HD patients performed worse than OCD and HC participants in both tasks, showing an impulsive-like pattern of response (i.e. shorter reaction time and more commission errors). They also exhibited hyperactivation of the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex during successful response switching and abnormal deactivation of frontal regions during error processing in both tasks.ConclusionsOur results support that patients with HD and OCD present dissimilar cognitive profiles, supported by distinct neural mechanisms. Specifically, while alterations in HD resemble an impulsive pattern of response, patients with OCD present increased error processing during response conflict protocols.

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Brain activation in paediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder during tasks of inhibitory control

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.107.036558 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 192 (1) ◽

pp. 25-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 101

Author(s):

James Woolley ◽

Isobel Heyman ◽

Mick Brammer ◽

Ian Frampton ◽

Philip K. McGuire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Attention Networks ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Fmri Study

BackgroundObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be related to a dysfunction in frontostriatal pathways mediating inhibitory control. However, no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study has tested this in children.AimsTo test whether adolescents with OCD in partial remission would show abnormal frontostriatal brain activation during tasks of inhibition.MethodEvent-related fMRI was used to compare brain activation in 10 adolescent boys with OCD with that of 9 matched controls during three different tasks of inhibitory control.ResultsDuring a ‘stop’ task, participants with OCD showed reduced activation in right orbitofrontal cortex, thalamus and basal ganglia; inhibition failure elicited mesial frontal underactivation. Task switching and interference inhibition were associated with attenuated activation in frontal, temporoparietal and cerebellar regions.ConclusionsThese preliminary findings support the hypothesis that paediatric OCD is characterised by a dysregulation of frontostriatothalamic brain regions necessary for motor inhibition, and also demonstrate dysfunction of temporoparietal and frontocerebellar attention networks during more cognitive forms of inhibition.

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MRI-Based Multimodal Approach to the Assessment of Clinical Symptom Severity of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Psychiatry Investigation ◽

10.30773/pi.2020.0124 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (8) ◽

pp. 777-785

Author(s):

Shin-Eui Park ◽

Byeong-Chae Kim ◽

Jong-Chul Yang ◽

Gwang-Woo Jeong

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Clinical Symptom ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Structural Deformation ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Functional Abnormality ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal

Objective This study assessed the associations of the abnormal brain activation and functional connectivity (FC) during memory processing and brain volume alteration in conjunction with psychiatric symptom severity in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).Methods Twenty-OCD patients and 20-healthy controls (HC) underwent T1-weighted and functional imaging underlying explicit memory task.Results In memory encoding, OCD patients showed higher activities in right/left (Rt./Lt.) inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), compared with HC. In task-based FC, caudate (Cd) was positively connected with DLPFC and ITG in OCD, while HC showed different connectivities of Cd-ACC and Rt.-Lt. ITG. In memory retrieval, only Cd was activated in OCD patients. Cd was positively connected with DLPFC and vmPFC in OCD, but negatively connected between same brain areas in HC. OCD patients showed increased gray matter (GM) volumes of cerebellum, DLPFC, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), hippocampus, Cd and ITG, and concurrently, increased white matter volumes of DLPFC. In OCD patients, GM volumes of Cd and OFC were positively correlated with HAMA and Y-BOCS. Functional activity changes of Cd in OCD were positively correlated with Y-BOCS.Conclusion Our findings support to accessing clinical symptom and its severity linked by brain structural deformation and functional abnormality in OCD patients.

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The treatment of magical ideation in two individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder

The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist ◽

10.1017/s1754470x10000140 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 16-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Danielle A. Einstein ◽

Ross G. Menzies ◽

Tamsen St Clare ◽

Juliette Drobny ◽

Fjola Dogg Helgadottir

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Video Clip ◽

Magical Thinking ◽

Behaviour Therapy ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Magical Ideation ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Pre Treatment

AbstractData collected from clinical populations indicate that magical ideation (MI) may play a causal or a mediating role in the expression of obsessive compulsive symptoms. If this is the case then when targeted in treatment, symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) should be altered. Two individuals diagnosed with OCD received a trial treatment targeting magical thinking. The intervention consisted of a series of procedures designed to undermine superstitious/MI without targeting obsessions or compulsions. The procedures involved critical analysis of the following material: (1) a free astrology offer; (2) a horoscope prediction exercise; (3) a description of four different cultural explanations of the origin of fire; (4) an instructive guide for Tarot card readers; (5) a report of a UFO sighting; (6) a video-clip describing a cult festival; (7) a description of a ‘hoax’ channeler and (8) a superstition exercise. Measures of obsessive compulsive symptoms, superstition, MI and thought–action fusion were administered pre-treatment, post-treatment and at 3 months’ follow-up. According to the twofold criterion of Jacobson et al. (Behaviour Therapy 1984, 15, 336–352), following treatment the patients were identified as being recovered on measures of magical and superstitious thinking and on the Padua Inventory.

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Voxel-wise meta-analysis of grey matter changes in obsessive–compulsive disorder

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.108.055046 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 195 (5) ◽

pp. 393-402 ◽

Cited By ~ 441

Author(s):

Joaquim Radua ◽

David Mataix-Cols

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Antidepressant Treatment ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Control Group ◽

Grey Matter Volume ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Caudate Nuclei ◽

Compulsive Disorder

BackgroundSpecific cortico-striato-thalamic circuits are hypothesised to mediate the symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), but structural neuroimaging studies have been inconsistent.AimsTo conduct a meta-analysis of published and unpublished voxel-based morphometry studies in OCD.MethodTwelve data-sets comprising 401 people with OCD and 376 healthy controls met inclusion criteria. A new improved voxel-based meta-analytic method, signed differential mapping (SDM), was developed to examine regions of increased and decreased grey matter volume in the OCD group v. control group.ResultsNo between-group differences were found in global grey matter volumes. People with OCD had increased regional grey matter volumes in bilateral lenticular nuclei, extending to the caudate nuclei, as well as decreased volumes in bilateral dorsal medial frontal/anterior cingulate gyri. A descriptive analysis of quartiles, a sensitivity analysis as well as analyses of subgroups further confirmed these findings. Meta-regression analyses showed that studies that included individuals with more severe OCD were significantly more likely to report increased grey matter volumes in the basal ganglia. No effect of current antidepressant treatment was observed.ConclusionsThe results support a dorsal prefrontal–striatal model of the disorder and raise the question of whether functional alterations in other brain regions commonly associated with OCD, such as the orbitofrontal cortex, may reflect secondary compensatory strategies. Whether the reported differences between participants with OCD and controls precede the onset of the symptoms and whether they are specific to OCD remains to be established.

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Severity of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms is Related to Self-Directedness Character Trait in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

CNS Spectrums ◽

10.1017/s1092852900002789 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 607-612 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Carlos Cruz-Fuentes ◽

Claudia Blas ◽

Laura Gonzalez ◽

Beatriz Camarena ◽

Humberto Nicolini

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Character Trait ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Temperament And Character Inventory ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Behavioral Features ◽

Character Inventory

ABSTRACT:Objective:The present study examined the psychobiological Temperament and Character model of personality on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, as well as the relation of temperament and/or character dimensions on the severity of obsessive-compubive symptoms.Methods:Fifty-four subjects diagnosed with OCD, were assessed with the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive scale and the Hamilton Rating Scales for depression and anxiety.Results:Compared with controls, OCD subjects displayed increased harm avoidance and lower self-directedness and cooperativeness. Low self-directedness and high Hamilton depression scores were associated with increased severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.Conclusions:The Temperament and Character profile of OCD patients characterized in the present stud personality model and can be linked to some of their behavioral features. Furthermore, our data provides support of the influence that some personality traits may have on the severity of OCD symptoms.

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