A magnetic resonance imaging study on brain surface morphology change in patients with first-episode obsessive compulsive disorder

Abstract

Objective To analyze the brain structure changes of the first-episode obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients who were scanned by three-dimensional structure magnetic resonance imaging. Methods According to the diagnostic criteria of OCD in American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the fist-episode obsessive compulsive disorder patients as case group(OCD, n=26) and the adult healthy volunteers as control group (control group, n=25) were selected.All subjects were assessed with Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale(Y-BOCS), Hamilton Anxiety rating Scale (HAMA) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD), and then, they received 3D-MRI scanning runs.All the data was processed with freesurfer software and analyzed about cerebral cortical volume, cortical thickness, cortical surface area, the local gyrification index and subcortical nuclei volume. Results Compared with control group, the cerebral cortical thickness of OCD group increased at the left postcentral gyrus((2.223±0.118)mm), left supramarginal gyrus((2.486±0.027)mm) and left parahippocampal gyrus((2.399±0.164)mm). The cerebral cortical surface area larged at the right inferior frontal gyrus((1.036±0.079)mm2), right paracentral lobule((0.827±0.048)mm2)and medial orbitofrontal((0.990±0.083)mm2), and decreased at right superior parietal lobule((0.779±0.040)mm2), right inferior parietal lobule((0.767±0.093)mm2)and right inferior temporal gyrus((0.888±0.070)mm2). The cerebral cortical volume increased at the right inferior frontal gyrus((2.330±0.223)mm3). The cerebral cortical local gyrification index decreased at right middle temporal gyrus(2.893±0.288)and left inferior temporal gyrus(2.589±0.100). Conclusion The first-episode OCD patients have multiple changes of brain structures, and this changes were priority for the frontal lobes, orbital frontal, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and hippocampus.The changes in these regions maybe have close relationship with symptoms of OCD. Key words: First-episode obsessive-compulsive disorder; Magnetic resonance imaging; Freesurfer scanning images software; The local gyrification index