Abstract
Objective: This study examined whether obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients have gray matter abnormalities in regions related to executive function, and whether such abnormalities are associated with impaired executive function.Methods: Multiple scales were administered to 27 first-episode drug-naïve OCD patients and 29 healthy controls. Comprehensive brain morphometric indicators of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and three striatum areas (caudate, putamen, and pallidum) were determined. Hemisphere lateralization index was calculated for each region of interest. Correlations between lateralization index and psychological variables were examined in OCD group.Results: The OCD group had greater local gyrification index for the right OFC and greater gray matter volumes of the bilateral putamen and left pallidum than healthy controls. They also had weaker left hemisphere superiority for local gyrification index of the OFC and gray matter volume of the putamen, but stronger left hemisphere superiority for gray matter volume of the pallidum. Patients' lateralization index for local gyrification index of the OFC correlated negatively with Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and Dysexecutive Questionnaire scores, respectively.Conclusion: Structural abnormalities of the bilateral putamen, left pallidum, and right OFC may underlie OCD pathology. Abnormal lateralization in OCD may contribute to the onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and impaired executive function.
Highlights
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe and potentially disabling mental disorder that is associated with neurodevelopmental risk factors [1]
We found that, relative to healthy controls (HCs), first-episode drug-naive young OCD patients had greater gray matter volume (GMV) of the left pallidum and bilateral putamen, as well as an greater local gyrification index (LGI) of the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), consistent with the view that OCD patients have a structurally abnormal OFC and striatum [1, 11, 12, 36]
We found that OCD patients had a larger left pallidal GMV than HCs
Summary
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe and potentially disabling mental disorder that is associated with neurodevelopmental risk factors [1]. High-resolution brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques investigating the cerebral changes associated with OCD and the pathological mechanism underlying OCD have revealed structural and functional abnormalities [1, 7, 8]. A previous connectionism study indicated that functional alterations in the CSTC pathway were associated with structural alterations affecting connectivity between the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the striatum [11, 12]. Structural MRI studies have revealed anatomical abnormalities of the OFC [13,14,15], striatum [16,17,18], and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) [19], thalamus, hippocampus [1], and occipital cortex [20]
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