Scores Of Obsessive-compulsive Symptoms Research Articles

Work stress and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in nurses and office workers: a comparative study

Objectives. This study aims to compare the work stress and obsessive-compulsive symptoms of nurses and office workers and to determine the relationship between work stress and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Methods. A total of 127 nurses and 127 office workers participated in the cross-sectional study and comparative study. Data were collected using the perceived work stress scale and the Maudsley obsessive-compulsive inventory. Results. Nurses had higher work stress scores (p = 0.003) in general than office workers. In particular, nurses with a low (p < 0.039) and average (p < 0.007) economic status, nurses who had been employed for 1–10 years (p < 0.001) and nurses working 40 h per week (p < 0.042) had higher work stress scores than office workers. There was no difference (p > 0.05) between obsessive-compulsive symptom scores. There was a positive significant relationship (p < 0.001) between work stress and obsessive-compulsive symptom scores of nurses and office workers. Work stress explains 6.1% of the obsessive-compulsive symptoms in nurses and 12.4% in office workers. Conclusion. The results of this study concluded that work stress of nurses is higher than that of office workers and work stress affects the obsessive-compulsive symptoms in both groups.

Experiential avoidance and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in University students

Experiential avoidance is functional diagnostic dimension which refers to the unwillingness to engage with distressing thoughts, feelings, memories, and other internal experiences, despite the subsequent impairment it may cause. The spectrum of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) is often associated with anxiety and avoidant behaviors. It is still unknown the relation of each OCD dimension with experiential avoidance. This study aims to examine the relationship between dimensions of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and experiential avoidance in a college student sample. A total of 390 undergraduate students participated in this investigation, completing online surveys including DYBOC-short version and the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ), alongside assessments of anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale) and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9). The findings indicated a significant correlation between experiential avoidance, obsessive-compulsive symptom scores, and depression scores within a non-clinical sample.

Is Every Thyroid Antibody a Bad Sign?: The Complex Relationship of Antithyroid Antibodies and Obsessive-compulsive Symptoms.

: Several immunological factors are emphasized in the etiology of autoimmune thyroid diseases and obsessivecompulsive disorder. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) are commonly seen in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between OCS and antithyroid antibodies. : The study included 145 patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis or Graves' disease and 42 healthy controls. Thyroid function tests and serum thyroid autobody levels (anti-thyroglobulin [TG], anti-thyroid peroxidase [TPO], and anti-thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH]) of the patients were measured. The socio-demographic data and OCS of the participants were evaluated with Dimensional OCS (DOCS). : DOCS scores were higher in patients than in the control group. There was not found a significant relationship between free T3, free T4, and TSH levels and DOCS scores. Anti-TG positivity in females was associated with lower DOCS scores. Anti-TPO positivity in males had a positive correlation with DOCS scores. There was no correlation between sex and the presence of anti-TSH in terms of OCS severity. Univariate analysis found the highest OCS scores in anti-TPO positive, anti-TG, and anti-TSH negative patients. The group with the lowest OCS scores was found to be anti-TG positive, anti-TPO, and anti-TSH negative patients. : OCS severity could be affected by different thyroid autoantibody profiles in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases. While anti-TG serves a protective role against OCS in females, the presence of anti-TPO may worsen the OCS in men. Additionally, the co-existence of different antithyroid antibodies may affect the severity of OCS differently according to sex.

Error-related brain activity associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms in youth.

Subclinical obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) are common in children, and increase risk for later onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In pediatric patients with OCD, neuroimaging research implicates altered neural mechanisms for error-processing, but whether abnormal brain response occurs with subclinical OCS remains poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 113 youth (8-18 years; 45 female) from a community sample were scanned during an error-eliciting Go/No-Go task. OCS were assessed dimensionally using the obsessive-compulsive subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist. The association between OCS scores and error-related brain activity was examined at the whole-brain level. Lower OCS scores associated with stronger response to errors in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), caudate, putamen, thalamus, and occipital cortex. Additionally, lower OCS related to higher capacity for inhibitory control, as indexed by greater accuracy on No-Go trials during fMRI scanning. The relationship between lower OCS and better accuracy on No-Go trials was mediated by greater error-related dACC activity. The inverse relationship between OCS and error-related activity in the dACC and extended cortical-striatal-thalamic circuitry may index an adaptive process by which subclinical OCS are minimized in youth. Further, these results identify an observable pattern of brain activity that tracks with subclinical OCS severity. Understanding the link between neural networks for error processing and the normal to abnormal range of OCS may pave the way for brain-based strategies to identify children who are more likely to develop OCD and enable the targeting of preventive strategies to reduce risk.

Contamination-related behaviors, obsessions, and compulsions during the COVID-19 pandemic in a United States population sample

BackgroundContamination-prevention behaviors such as mask wearing and physical distancing are crucial to reduce coronavirus transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that engagement in these behaviors could provoke obsessions and phobias in vulnerable individuals in the community. MethodsA total of 2117 participants, systematically selected to represent the age, gender, and race distributions of the US population, completed an online survey that assessed demographic characteristics, clinical features, COVID-19 risks, and COVID-19 contamination-prevention behaviors. Logistic regression was used to estimate the magnitude of the relationships between the COVID-19 behavior score and clinically significant contamination obsessions, contamination compulsions, and pre-COVID-19 to current change in obsessive-compulsive symptom scores. ResultsThe COVID-19 behavior score was significantly associated with contamination obsessions (odds ratio (OR) = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.12–1.16; p < 0.001) and contamination phobias (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.12–1.16; p < 0.001). The COVID-19 behavior score also was associated with pre-pandemic to current increase in the overall obsessive-compulsive symptom score (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.09–1.23; p < 0.001), as well as increase in obsessive-compulsive symptom score excluding washing items (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.07–1.19; p < 0.001). The magnitude of these relationships did not appreciably change, after adjustment for other variables associated with the outcomes. Moreover, the relationship was significant in those with or without OCD, and in individuals with different levels of doubt and COVID-19 risk. ConclusionsContamination safety measures are critical for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the community. However, they may be related to the development of contamination-related symptoms and OCD in vulnerable individuals, complicating the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders during this period.

Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Among Children in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study: Clinical, Cognitive, and Brain Connectivity Correlates

BackgroundChildhood obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCSs) are common and can be an early risk marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study provides a unique opportunity to characterize OCSs in a large normative sample of school-age children and to explore corticostriatal and task-control circuits implicated in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. MethodsThe ABCD Study acquired data from 9- and 10-year-olds (N = 11,876). Linear mixed-effects models probed associations between OCSs (Child Behavior Checklist) and cognition (NIH Toolbox), brain structure (subcortical volume, cortical thickness), white matter (diffusion tensor imaging), and resting-state functional connectivity. ResultsOCS scores showed good psychometric properties and high prevalence, and they were related to familial/parental factors, including family conflict. Higher OCS scores related to better cognitive performance (β = .06, t9966.60 = 6.28, p < .001, ηp2= .01), particularly verbal, when controlling for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which related to worse performance. OCSs did not significantly relate to brain structure but did relate to lower superior corticostriatal tract fractional anisotropy (β = −.03, t = −3.07, p = .002, ηp2= .02). Higher OCS scores were related to altered functional connectivity, including weaker connectivity within the dorsal attention network (β = −.04, t7262.87 = −3.71, p < .001, ηp2= .002) and weaker dorsal attention–default mode anticorrelation (β = .04, t7251.95 = 3.94, p < .001, ηp2 = .002). Dorsal attention–default mode connectivity predicted OCS scores at 1 year (β = −.04, t2407.61 = −2.23, p = .03, ηp2 = .03). ConclusionsOCSs are common and may persist throughout childhood. Corticostriatal connectivity and attention network connectivity are likely mechanisms in the subclinical-to-clinical spectrum of OCSs. Understanding correlates and mechanisms of OCSs may elucidate their role in childhood psychiatric risk and suggest potential utility of neuroimaging, e.g., dorsal attention–default mode connectivity, for identifying children at increased risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Risk factors for obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Follow-up of a community-based youth cohort.

Environmental factors are at least as important as genetic factors for the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS), but the identification of such factors remain a research priority. Our study aimed to investigate the association between a broad scope of potential risk factors and OCS in a large community cohort of children and adolescents. We evaluated 1877 participants and their caregivers at baseline and after 3years to assess various demographic, prenatal, perinatal, childhood adversity, and psychopathological factors. Mean age at baseline was 10.2years (SD 1.9) and mean age at follow-up was 13.4years (SD 1.9). Reports of OCS at baseline and follow-up were analyzed using latent variable models. At preliminary regression analysis, 15 parameters were significantly associated with higher OCS scores at follow-up. At subsequent regression analysis, we found that eight of these parameters remained significantly associated with higher follow-up OCS scores while being controlled by each other and by baseline OCS scores. The significant predictors of follow-up OCS were: lower socioeconomic status (p = 0.033); lower intelligence quotient (p = 0.013); lower age (p < 0.001); higher maternal stress level during pregnancy (p = 0.028); absence of breastfeeding (p = 0.017); parental baseline OCS (p = 0.038); youth baseline anxiety disorder (p = 0.023); and youth baseline OCS scores (p < 0.001). These findings may better inform clinicians and policymakers engaged in the mental health assessment and prevention in children and adolescents.

Searchlight classification based on Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuation and functional connectivity in individuals with obsessive-compulsive symptoms

ABSTRACTIntroductionInvestigating obsessive-compulsive symptoms in subclinical populations provides a useful framework for understanding the early development of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. The present study aimed to apply searchlight classification analysis on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to identify potential brain markers in subclinical individuals with obsessive-compulsive symptoms.MethodsIn this observational study, 40 college students with high obsessive-compulsive symptom scores and 40 with low obsessive-compulsive symptom scores were recruited from universities in China. We conducted searchlight classification and comparison analysis between the two groups based on Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuation (ALFF), fraction ALFF (fALFF) and resting-state functional connectivity using searchlight classification.ResultsWe found that the highest accuracy rate in differentiating between the two groups was 85.00%. Significant discriminating features included the ALFF of the left medial superior frontal gyrus and the functional connectivity between the right thalamus and the bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus, and the right putamen, as well as the functional connectivity between the left caudate and the right insula.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the specific and distinguishing brain functional abnormalities associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

The association of schizophrenia symptoms clusters with obsessive compulsive symptoms

IntroductionThirty percent of individuals with schizophrenia demonstrate obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCSs). There is conflicting data on the effects of antipsychotic medication on OCSs in schizophrenia. The delineation of the relationship of OCSs with positive, negative and general psychopathology symptoms has theoretical and treatment implications.ObjectivesTo investigate the relationship among OCSs with the symptoms clusters in schizophrenia.MethodsWe recruited 110 chronic schizophrenia patients and assessed OCSs (Yale-Brown Scale) and schizophrenia symptoms (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale). In order to investigate the relationship of OCSs with clusters of schizophrenia symptoms, we conducted correlation analyses between YBOCS total scores or obsession or compulsion subscores with the PANSS symptoms scores (total, positive, negative and general psychopathology) and the cognitive scores derived from CANTAB. We re-conducted these correlations for the sub groups with clinically detectable OCSs (YBOCS &gt; 8) and clinically significant OCSs (YBOCS &gt; 14).ResultsThe only significant correlation was that of scores of OCSs with PANSS general psychopathology scores (rho = 0.190, P = 0.047). Obsessions and compulsions did not significantly correlate with positive or negative symptom clusters. No significant correlation between OCSs and schizophrenia symptoms were detected in the subgroups with clinically detectable or significant OCSs.ConclusionsOCSs appear to be a separate symptom cluster in the context of schizophrenia, suggesting that OCSs cannot be expected to be influenced by standard antipsychotic treatments.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Sensory phenomena related to tics, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and global functioning in Tourette syndrome

ObjectivesSensory phenomena, including premonitory urges, are experienced by patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The goal of the present study was to investigate such phenomena related to tics, obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS), and global functioning in Japanese patients with TS. MethodsForty-one patients with TS were assessed using the University of São Paulo Sensory Phenomena Scale (USP-SPS), the Premonitory Urge for Tics Scale (PUTS), the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS), and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale. ResultsUSP-SPS and PUTS total scores were significantly correlated with YGTSS total and vocal tics scores. Additionally, both sensory phenomena severity scores were significantly correlated with DY-BOCS total OCS scores. Of the six dimensional OCS scores, the USP-SPS scores were significantly correlated with measures of aggression and sexual/religious dimensions. Finally, the PUTS total scores were significantly and negatively correlated with GAF scores. ConclusionsBy assessing premonitory urges and broader sensory phenomena, and by viewing OCS from a dimensional approach, this study provides significant insight into sensory phenomena related to tics, OCS, and global functioning in patients with TS.

The impact of tics, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and impulsivity on global functioning in Tourette syndrome

This study investigated the relationships between tics, obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCS), and impulsivity, and their effects on global functioning in Japanese patients with Tourette syndrome (TS), using the dimensional approach for OCS. Fifty-three TS patients were assessed using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale, the Dimensional Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale, the Impulsivity Rating Scale, and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale. Although tic severity scores were significantly and positively correlated with OCS severity scores, impulsivity severity scores were not significantly correlated with either. The global functioning score was significantly and negatively correlated with tic and OCS severity scores. Of the 6 dimensional OCS scores, only aggression scores had a significant negative correlation with global functioning scores. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that only OCS severity scores were significantly associated with global functioning scores. Despite a moderate correlation between tic severity and OCS severity, the impact of OCS on global functioning was greater than that of tics. Of the OCS dimensions, only aggression had a significant impact on global functioning. Our findings suggest that it is important to examine OCS using a dimensional approach when analyzing global functioning in TS patients.

Psychiatric disorders in idiopathic-isolated focal dystonia

Idiopathic-isolated focal dystonia (IIFD) is a movement disorder characterised by involuntary, sustained muscle contractions, leading to abnormal postures. Psychopathology is frequent in patients with IIFD, and while traditionally this was thought to be a secondary phenomenon, there is emerging evidence for shared neurobiological mechanisms. We conducted a single-centre cross-sectional study of 103 consecutive patients with IIFD and two comparison groups: 78 consecutive patients with hemifacial spasm (HFS) and 93 healthy control subjects. Assessments with regard to psychiatric disturbances were performed using self-report questionnaires, including the self-report version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS-SR), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Compared to healthy control subjects and patients with HFS, the IIFD group had higher OCS, anxiety, and depression scores as measured by the Y-BOCS-SR, BAI, and BDI, respectively. The Y-BOCS-SR, BAI, and BDI were highly correlated across all the subjects. Logistic regression analysis showed that the main driver of high obsessive-compulsive symptom scores, irrespective of neurological diagnosis, was the BDI, whereas it was BAI (and not BDI), that drives the association between the psychiatric rating scale scores and the neurological diagnosis. Our findings suggest that while clinically significant obsessive-compulsive symptoms are over-represented in IIFD patients relative to controls, the BAI may have better discriminatory power to distinguish between the psychiatric symptoms in IIFD patients.

Sex determines which section of the SLC6A4 gene is linked to obsessive–compulsive symptoms in normal Chinese college students

Previous case–control and family-based association studies have implicated the SLC6A4 gene in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Little research, however, has examined this gene's role in obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCS) in community samples. The present study genotyped seven tag SNPs and two common functional tandem repeat polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR and STin2), which together cover the whole SLC6A4 gene, and investigated their associations with OCS in normal Chinese college students (N = 572). The results revealed a significant gender main effect and gender-specific genetic effects of the SLC6A4 gene on OCS. Males scored significantly higher on total OCS and its three dimensions than did females (ps < .01). The 5-HTTLPR in the promoter region showed a female-specific genetic effect, with the l/l and l/s genotypes linked to higher OCS scores than the s/s genotype (ps < .05). In contrast, a conserved haplotype polymorphism (rs1042173| rs4325622| rs3794808| rs140701| rs4583306| rs2020942) covering from intron 3 to the 3′ UTR of the SLC6A4 gene showed male-specific genetic effects, with the CGAAGG/CGAAGG genotype associated with lower OCS scores than the other genotypes (ps < .05). These effects remained significant after controlling for OCS-related factors including participants' depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as stressful life events, and correction for multiple tests. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for our understanding of the sex-specific role of the different sections of the SLC6A4 gene in OCD.

P-809 - Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in primary focal dystonia: a shared frontal cortical-basal dysfunction?

Primary focal dystonia (PFD) is an idiopathic movement disorder that manifests as involuntary, sustained muscle contractions, leading to abnormal postures. Its pathophysiology probably involves a functional disorder of the basal ganglia and their frontal cortical connections. The hypothetical association with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has raised particular interest, as both disorders seem to involve frontal cortical-basal dysfunction. Anyway, evidence supporting this association is scarce and contradictory. To address the next two questions: (1) Do primary dystonia patients have high obsessive-compulsive symptom scores? (2) Are these symptoms more severe in dystonia than in controls with equivalent peripheral neurological disorders? We’ve conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, controlled study comprising 45 consecutive patients with PFD (i.e., blepharospasm, spasmodic torticollis, or writer's cramp), 46 consecutive patients with hemifacial spasm, cervical spondylarthropathy, or carpal tunnel syndrome, and 30 healthy volunteers. Assessment included the DSM-IV based psychiatric interview, Symptom Check- list 90R, Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and Checklist, and the Unified Dystonia Rating Scale. Dystonia patients had higher Yale-Brown scores than both control groups. Major depression and generalized anxiety disorder were the most frequent psychiatric diagnoses in PFD. Obsessive-compulsive disorder frequency was 6.7%. PFD patients have higher obsessive-compulsive symptom scores than individuals with similar functional disabilities resulting from other neurological disorders, suggesting that obsessive-compulsive symptoms in dystonia are not reactive to chronic disability. Dystonic muscle contractions and obsessive-compulsive symptoms may share a common neurobiological basis related to cortical-basal dysfunction. Psychopathology, especially obsessive-compulsive symptoms, should be actively explored and treated in primary focal dystonia.

Obsessive‐compulsive symptoms in primary focal dystonia: A controlled study

Primary focal dystonia is an idiopathic neurological disorder causing involuntary muscle contraction. Its pathophysiology probably involves the basal ganglia and cortical-basal pathways. Primary dystonia appears to be associated with significant obsessive-compulsive symptoms, but evidence remains scarce and contradictory. We addressed the following research questions: (1) Do primary dystonia patients have high obsessive-compulsive symptom scores? (2) Are these symptoms more severe in dystonia than in controls with equivalent peripheral neurological disorders? and (3) Is psychopathology different in botulinum toxin-treated and -untreated dystonia patients? This work was a cross-sectional, descriptive, controlled study comprising 45 consecutive patients with primary focal dystonia (i.e., blepharospasm, spasmodic torticollis, or writer's cramp) 46 consecutive patients with hemifacial spasm, cervical spondylarthropathy, or carpal tunnel syndrome, and 30 healthy volunteers. Assessment included the DSM-IV based psychiatric interview, Symptom Checklist 90R, Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and Checklist, and the Unified Dystonia Rating Scale. Dystonia patients had higher Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom scores than both control groups. Dystonia patients with obsessive-compulsive symptom scores above cut-off for clinical significance predominantly developed hygiene-related symptoms. Major depression and generalized anxiety disorder were the most frequent psychiatric diagnoses in primary focal dystonia. Obsessive-compulsive disorder frequency was 6.7%. Primary focal dystonia patients have higher obsessive-compulsive symptom scores than individuals with similar functional disabilities resulting from other neurological disorders, suggesting that obsessive-compulsive symptoms in dystonia are not reactive to chronic disability. Dystonic muscle contractions and obsessive-compulsive symptoms may share a common neurobiological basis related to cortical-basal dysfunction. Psychopathology, especially obsessive-compulsive symptoms, should be actively explored and treated in primary focal dystonia.

White Matter Differences in Monozygotic Twins Discordant or Concordant for Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: A Combined Diffusion Tensor Imaging/Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Neuroimaging studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients point to deficits in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits that might include changes in white matter. The contribution of environmental and genetic factors to the various OCD-related changes in brain structures remains to be established. White matter structures were analyzed in 140 subjects with both diffusion tensor imaging and voxel-based morphometry. We studied 20 monozygotic twin pairs discordant for obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) to detect the effects of environmental risk factors for obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptomatology. Furthermore, we compared 28 monozygotic twin pairs concordant for low OCS scores with 23 twin pairs concordant for high OCS scores to detect the effects of genetic risk factors for OC symptomatology. Discordant pair analysis showed that the environmental risk was associated with an increase in dorsolateral-prefrontal white matter. Analysis of concordant pairs showed that the genetic risk was associated with a decrease in inferior frontal white matter. Various white matter tracts showed opposite effects of environmental and genetic risk factors (e.g., right medial frontal, left parietal, and right middle temporal), illustrating the need for designs that separate these classes of risk factors. Different white matter regions were affected by environmental and genetic risk factors for OC symptomatology, but both classes of risk factors might, in aggregate, create an imbalance between the indirect loop of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical network (to the dorsolateral-prefrontal region)-important for inhibition and switching between behaviors-and the direct loop (involving the inferior frontal region) that contributes to the initiation and continuation of behaviors.

Nonclinical Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Executive Functions in Schizophrenia

Nonclinical Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Executive Functions in Schizophrenia

Altered cingulate sub-region activation accounts for task-related dissociation in ERN amplitude as a function of obsessive-compulsive symptoms

Larger error-related negativities (ERNs) have been consistently found in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, and are thought to reflect the activities of a hyperactive cortico-striatal circuit during action monitoring. We previously observed that obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptomatic students (non-patients) have larger ERNs during errors in a response competition task, yet smaller ERNs in a reinforcement learning task. The finding of a task-specific dissociation suggests that distinct yet partially overlapping medio-frontal systems underlie the ERN in different tasks, and that OC symptoms are associated with functional differences in these systems. Here, we used EEG source localization to identify why OC symptoms are associated with hyperactive ERNs to errors yet hypoactive ERNs when selecting maladaptive actions. At rest, OC symptomatology predicted greater activity in rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and lower activity in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). When compared to a group with low OC symptom scores, the high OC group had greater rACC reactivity during errors in the response competition task and less deactivation of dACC activity during errors in the reinforcement learning task. The degree of activation in these areas correlated with ERN amplitudes during both tasks in the high OC group, but not in the low group. Interactive anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) systems associated avoidance of maladaptive actions were intact in the high OC group, but were related to poorer performance on a third task: probabilistic reversal learning. These novel findings link both tonic and phasic activities in the ACC to action monitoring alterations, including dissociation in performance deficits, in OC symptomatic participants.

FC02-03 Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in primary dystonia: Reactive and psychogenic or primary and neurophysiological?

Introduction:Primary dystonia (PDy) is an idiopathic neurological disorder causing involuntary muscle contraction. Its pathophysiology is believed to involve basal-ganglia (BG) dysfunction. A possible association with Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) is regarded as further evidence of BG involvement but remains controversial due to contradictory research data. We proposed to answer three questions:1.Do PDy patients have high OCS scores?2.Are OCS in PDy reactive?3.Does botulinum toxin treatment (BT) influence PDy psycopathology?Subjects:45 patients with blepharospasm, spasmodic torticollis, writer's cramp; 43 patients with hemifacial spasm, cervical spondilarthropathy, peripheral hand neuropathy; 27 healthy volunteers.Assessment: non-structured DSM-IV based psychiatric interview; Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90R); Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS); Unified Dystonia Rating Scale (UDRS).Results:PDy patients scored significantly higher than controls and healthy controls on the YBOCS (11.1 ± 7.24; 5.98 ± 4.33; 2.07 ± 0.92, both p&lt; 0.001). Controls’ mean score was also significantly higher than healthy subjects’. Controls scored higher than PDy and healthy subjects on the SCL-90R somatization scale. BT treated PDy patients had significantly lower anxiety and somatization but higher UDRS and similar YBOCS ratings compared to untreated patients.Discussion:Higher ratings of OCS but not of depression, anxiety or somatization in PDy patients suggests a neurophysiological origin for OCS in PDy. However, diseased controls also scored higher than healthy subjects, suggesting that OCS may nevertheless be partly reactive in PDy. BT may decrease anxiety/depressive symptoms but not OCS, lending further strength to a possible neurophysiological aetiology for OCS in PDy.

Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Self-Report Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Dutch Adolescents at Ages 12, 14, and 16

Objective To determine the contributions of genetic and environmental influences to variation in self-report of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms in a population-based twin sample of adolescent boys and girls. Method Self-report ratings on the eight-item Youth Self-Report Obsessive-Compulsive Scale were collected in Dutch mono- and dizygotic twin pairs who participated at age 12 ( N = 746 twin pairs), 14 ( N = 963 pairs), or 16 years ( N = 1,070 pairs). Structural equation modeling was used to break down the variation in liability to OC symptoms into genetic and environmental components. Results At age 12, no difference in prevalence was found for OC symptoms in boys and girls. At ages 14 and 16, the prevalence was higher in girls. At all ages, genetic factors contributed significantly to variation on OC symptom liability; 27% at the age of 12,57% at the age of 14, and 54% at the age of 16. There were no sex differences in heritability. Only at age 12, environmental factors shared by children from the same family contributed significantly (16%) to individual differences in OC symptom scores. Conclusions During adolescence, OC symptoms are influenced by genetic and nonshared environmental factors. Sex differences in prevalence, but not heritability, emerge in adolescence. At age 12, shared environmental factors are of importance, but their influence disappears at later ages. This is in line with earlier research at age 12 that used parental ratings of OC symptoms. Thus, between-family factors play a significant role in explaining individual differences in OC symptoms at this age. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2008;47(10):1182–1188.