Spatial working memory performance in people with obsessive–compulsive disorder, their unaffected first-degree relatives and healthy controls

Summary Studies have shown that people with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) have impairments in spatial working memory (SWM) performance. However, it remains unclear whether this deficit represents a cognitive endophenotype preceding symptoms or a correlate of OCD. We investigated SWM in 69 people with OCD, 77 unaffected first-degree relatives of people with OCD and 106 healthy control participants. Taking age effects into account, SWM performance was best in healthy controls, intermediate in relatives and worst in OCD participants. However, since performance did not differ significantly between healthy controls and relatives, our study does not fully support SWM performance as a core cognitive endophenotype of OCD.

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Object alternation test—is it sensitive enough to detect cognitive dysfunction in obsessive–compulsive disorder?

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.06.016 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 19 (7) ◽

pp. 441-443 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Anne Katrin Kuelz ◽

Dieter Riemann ◽

Roland Zahn ◽

Ulrich Voderholzer

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Cognitive Dysfunction ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder

AbstractA computerized version of the object alternation test (OAT) was employed in unmedicated obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and matched healthy controls. OCD patients performed normally on the OAT but scored below controls on a task assessing visuo-spatial working memory. The results challenge the concept of the OAT as a sensitive instrument for orbitofrontal dysfunction in OCD.

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Executive functioning in Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

10.1101/2021.04.29.21256321 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Long Long Chen ◽

Oskar Flygare ◽

John Wallert ◽

Jesper Enander ◽

Volen Ivanov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Test Performance ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

Body Dysmorphic Disorder ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Clinical Severity ◽

Stop Signal Task ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder

Objective: To assess executive functions in patients with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) compared with healthy controls. Methods: Adults diagnosed with BDD (n=26) or OCD (n=29) according to DSM-5, and healthy controls (n=28) underwent validated and computerized neuropsychological tests; spatial working memory (SWM), Intra- extra dimensional set shifting (IED) and Stop signal task (SST), from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Test performance was compared between groups, and correlated to standardized symptom severity of BDD and OCD. Significance level was set to p<0.05. Results: There were no statistically significant between-group differences on key outcome measures in SWM, IED, or SST. There was a weak positive correlation between symptom severity and test errors on SWM and IED in both OCD and BDD groups; increased clinical severity were associated with more errors in these tests. Further, there was a negative correlation between symptom severity and SST in the BDD group. Conclusions: Patients with BDD or OCD did not differ from healthy control subjects in terms of test performance, however there were several statistically significant correlations between symptom severity and performance in those with BDD or OCD. More studies on EF in BDD and OCD are required to elucidate if there are differences in EF between these two disorders.

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The effects of acute serotonin challenge on executive planning in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), their first-degree relatives, and healthy controls

Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1007/s00213-020-05597-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 237 (10) ◽

pp. 3117-3123

Author(s):

Christine Lochner ◽

Samuel R. Chamberlain ◽

Martin Kidd ◽

Lian Taljaard ◽

Naomi A. Fineberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

First Degree Relatives

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Study of neurocognitive endophenotypes in drug-naïve obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, their first-degree relatives and healthy controls

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica ◽

10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01733.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 124 (2) ◽

pp. 152-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

G. Rajender ◽

M. S. Bhatia ◽

K. Kanwal ◽

S. Malhotra ◽

T. B. Singh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

First Degree Relatives ◽

Drug Naïve

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The role of spatial store and executive strategy in spatial working memory: a comparison between patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder and controls

Cognitive Neuropsychiatry ◽

10.1080/13546805.2018.1544888 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 14-27

Author(s):

Giampaolo Perna ◽

Paolo Cavedini ◽

Alice Riva ◽

Nunzia Valentina Di Chiaro ◽

Mara Bellotti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder

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Differential role of visuospatial working memory in the propensity toward uncertainty in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder and in healthy subjects

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291713002730 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (10) ◽

pp. 2113-2124 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

V. Lambrecq ◽

J.-Y. Rotge ◽

N. Jaafari ◽

B. Aouizerate ◽

N. Langbour ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Continuous Performance ◽

Visuospatial Working Memory ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Temporal Direction

BackgroundObsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with visuospatial working memory deficits. Intolerance of uncertainty is thought to be a core component of OCD symptoms. Recent findings argue for a possible relationship between abilities in visuospatial memory and uncertainty. However, this relationship remains unclear in both OCD patients and healthy subjects. To address this issue, we measured performance in visuospatial working memory and the propensity to express uncertainty during decision making. We assessed their relationship and the temporal direction of this relationship in both OCD patients and healthy subjects.MethodBaseline abilities in visuospatial working memory were measured with the Corsi block-tapping test. A delayed matching-to-sample task was used to identify explicit situations of certainty, uncertainty and ignorance and to assess continuous performance in visuospatial working memory. Behavioural variables were recorded over 360 consecutive trials in both groups.ResultsBaseline scores of visuospatial working memory did not predict the number of uncertain situations in OCD patients whereas they did in healthy subjects. Uncertain trials led to reduced abilities in visuospatial working memory to 65% of usual performance in OCD patients whereas they remained stable in healthy subjects.ConclusionsThe present findings show an opposite temporal direction in the relationship between abilities in working memory and uncertainty in OCD patients and healthy subjects. Poor working memory performance contributes to the propensity to feel uncertainty in healthy subjects whereas uncertainty contributes to decreased continuous performance in working memory in OCD patients.

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Distinct Effects of Social Stress on Working Memory in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Neuroscience Bulletin ◽

10.1007/s12264-020-00579-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Qianqian Li ◽

Jun Yan ◽

Jinmin Liao ◽

Xiao Zhang ◽

Lijun Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Supplementary Motor Area ◽

Motor Area ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

The Right

Abstract Stress might exaggerate the compulsion and impair the working memory of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study evaluated the effect of stress on the cognitive neural processing of working memory in OCD and its clinical significance using a “number calculation working memory” task. Thirty-eight patients and 55 gender- and education-matched healthy controls were examined. Stress impaired the performance of the manipulation task in patients. Healthy controls showed less engagement of the medial prefrontal cortex and striatum during the task under stress versus less stress, which was absent in the patients with OCD. The diagnosis × stress interaction effect was significant in the right fusiform, supplementary motor area, precentral cortex and caudate. The failure of suppression of the medial prefrontal cortex and striatum and stress-related hyperactivation in the right fusiform, supplementary motor area, precentral cortex, and caudate might be an OCD-related psychopathological and neural response to stress.

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A case-control association study of COMT rs4680 Polymorphism with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Cognitive Functions: The role of sex

10.21203/rs.3.rs-34240/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

sajedeh hamidian ◽

Abbas Pourshahbaz ◽

atefeh moradkhani ◽

Behrooz Dolatshahi ◽

Esmaeil Shahsavand Ananloo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Total Sample ◽

Control Group ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Genetic Components

Abstract Background Previous studies have emphasized the role of genetic components in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and cognitive functions. One of the most controversial markers in this area is the COMT rs4680 polymorphism. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of rs4680 on susceptibility to OCD and cognitive functions with respect to the moderating role of sex. Methods The subjects included 127 patients with OCD and 145 healthy controls. Genotyping was carried out by ARMS-PCR. The subjects underwent cognitive evaluations using the Wechsler Memory Scale-III. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 and R package software. Results The results showed a significantly higher frequency of the AA genotype in the OCD group than in the healthy control group. Cognitive assessments showed weaker Immediate Memory and General Memory performance in the patients with OCD than in the control group. No significant association was found between rs4680 and memory dimensions in the total sample, whereas analysis by sex revealed a significant association of rs4680 with Working Memory only in females. Conclusions The results of this study confirm previous findings about the association of the AA genotype with OCD. These findings also corroborate previous assumptions about impaired episodic memory in patients with OCD. Moreover, the association of rs4680 with Working Memory only in females endorses the hypothesis of the sexual dimorphism of the effects of this COMT gene polymorphism.

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