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The role of the orbitofrontal cortex in normally developing compulsive-like behaviors and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Mounting evidence concerning obsessive-compulsive disorders points to abnormal functioning of the orbitofrontal cortices. First, patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) perform poorly on tasks that rely on response suppression/motor inhibition functions mediated by the orbitofrontal cortex relative to both normal and clinical controls. Second, patients with OCD exhibit functional hyperactivity in lateral orbitofrontal and related structures corresponding with symptom severity. In this article, we compare these neurocognitive correlates of OCD with the executive and neural underpinnings of "compulsive-like" behaviors that are common in normal childhood. We discuss the phenomenology and natural history of normative compulsive-like behaviors as well as the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive continuities between typical and pathological obsessive-compulsive behaviors. We then examine associations between children's executive performance deficits and their observed compulsive-like characteristics. We relate these patterns to executive deficits shown by adults with OCD. Finally, we speculate on the developmental neurobiology of children's compulsive-like behaviors, with particular attention to orbitofrontal functions including behavioral and emotional regulation, and we suggest similarities and differences with the neurobiology of OCD. In making these comparisons, we hope to open a dialogue between researchers who study underlying brain pathologies associated with OCD and those who explore the neurocognitive bases of normal development.

Adolescent↗

Neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to mCPP in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) have been shown to demonstrate blunted cortisol and prolactin responses along with an exacerbation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in response to oral administration of the pharmacological probe, meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP). In an attempt to replicate these findings, mCPP was administered orally in the dose of 0.5 mg/kg body weight in a randomized double-blind design to 34 OCD patients who were either drug-naive or drug-free for a minimum period of four weeks. The cortisol and prolactin responses were contrasted with those of 18 drug-free healthy subjects. The OCD patients showed significantly blunted cortisol and prolactin responses to mCPP challenge as compared to normal subjects. However, mCPP did not produce any significant exacerbation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in the patient group. The results are suggestive of a serotonin (5-HT) receptor hyporesponsivity in the HPA axis. Even though previous studies indicate a hyperresponsivity of the 5-HT receptor system in the orbitofrontal-striatal-pallido-thalamo-cortical pathway as shown by significant symptom worsening following serotonergic challenge, the present study failed to replicate those results. 5-HT receptor hyporesponsivity in the HPA axis may be considered as a biological "trait marker" of OCD, and may not be directly involved in the mediation of symptomatology of the disorder.

Administration, Oral↗

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and comorbid anxiety problems in a national anxiety screening sample.

Questionnaire data were obtained from 5867 participants attending a national anxiety screening program. These participants were selected from more than 15,000 respondents on the basis of never having received treatment for a mental health problem. A screening instrument was designed to assess five anxiety disorders (obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder). The present study focused on those participants meeting full or partial screening criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (n = 3212), with those not meeting criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (n = 2655) serving as a comparison group. Significant relationships were found between questionnaire scores on both interference with daily living, readiness for treatment, and the number of comorbid anxiety problems. These findings shed light on the extent to which undiagnosed and untreated persons with obsessional or compulsive symptoms, or both, are experiencing, as well as the factors that may lead them to seek formal psychiatric or psychological treatment.

Adult↗

The emotional Stroop: a comparison of panic disorder patients, obsessive-compulsive patients, and normal controls, in two experiments.

An emotional Stroop task with four word types (panic threat, obsessive-compulsive threat, general threat, and neutral) and two presentation conditions (supraliminal, subliminal) was used in two experiments. The first experiment involved 21 panic disorder (PD) patients and 20 normal controls; the second experiment 20 PD patients and 20 obsessive-compulsive patients. PD patients, obsessive-compulsive patients, and normal controls did not differ in Stroop interferences. In addition, there were no significant correlations between reduction of PD symptoms and differences between pre- and post-treatment Stroop response latencies.

Adult↗

Comparison of clinical characteristics in good and poor insight obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Beginning with DSM-III-R, the condition of an intact insight towards obsessive-compulsive symptoms, which was essential for the classical definition of obsessivecompulsive neurosis, has been removed, permitting inclusion of cases with poor insight. A total of 94 cases who met DSM-III-R criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder were included in this study. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID-P), YaleBrown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HRSA), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were administered to each patient. Two subgroups determined by DSM-IV item "poor insight" were compared for demographic variables and the scores obtained on the scales. Scores on the Y-BOCS, HRSA, HRSD and STAI-state were significantly higher in the poor insight group. Current and past major depression were also more frequent. Among personality disorders (PDs), avoidant PD was more common in the good insight group and borderline and narcissistic PDs were more common in the poor insight group. HRSA, HRSD, and STAI-state scores had weak to moderate but significant correlations with insight as defined by the item 11 of Y-BOCS. Findings are discussed in view of previous reports.

Adult↗

Comparison of clinical characteristics in obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder.

Recent research has suggested that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is part of the spectrum of obsessive-compulsive disorders. In order to determine the extent of similarity for psychopathology measures, patients diagnosed with BDD were compared to a group of patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) on obsessionality, compulsivity, overvalued ideas, depression, and anxiety. Results indicate that BDD patients are similar to OCD patients for measures of obsessionality and compulsivity when BDD symptoms are assessed as such. BDD and OCD patients were also similar for measures of depression, and state and trait anxiety. OCD patients had higher levels of anxiety when measuring common physical symptoms associated with this affective reaction. BDD patients had higher levels of overvalued ideas, but fewer obsessive and compulsive symptoms. Overall, the results suggest that BDD is a variant of OCD, with special considerations given to degree of belief conviction (overvalued ideas.

Adult↗

Personality disorders do not influence the results of cognitive and behavior therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder.

This study examined whether categorical or dimensional personality disorder variables affected treatment outcome in a sample of 52 patients with obsessive compulsive disorder who followed a standardized cognitive behavior therapy program. Treatment consisted of 12 weekly sessions and was completed by 43 patients. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R personality disorders (SCID-II) was taken before the start of treatment by an independent rater. The treatment outcome measures included questionnaires and a Behavioral Assessment Test. Measurements were taken before and after treatment, and at 1 and 6 month follow-up tests. After the first follow-up test, further treatment was provided if clinically indicated. Neither categorical, nor dimensional personality disorder variables affected treatment outcome significantly. The inclusion of drop-outs in the analyses, did not change these results. Therefore, patients with obsessive compulsive disorder and concomitant personality disorder pathology should not be excluded from cognitive or behavior therapy for their obsessive compulsive complaints. Attributing therapy failure to concomitant Axis II pathology should be approached with caution.

Adolescent↗

Psychogenic seizures in obsessive-compulsive disorder with poor insight: a case report.

Psychogenic seizures or psychogenic nonepileptic seizures occur in various mental disorders. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms can also imitate epileptic partial seizures, but detailed observations of this phenomenon are rare in the literature. A girl of 13 years was referred to the Department of Child Psychiatry because of sudden falls that had occurred during a 1-year period, mainly at school. She had been diagnosed previously as having epilepsy or conversion seizures. After a fall, she demonstrated no response for periods up to 10 minutes, postictal somnolence had occasionally been observed. From the age of 10 years, the patient was reported to have had intrusive recurrent thoughts about dirt and contamination and had also demonstrated some signs of separation anxiety disorder. She was diagnosed as having obsessive-compulsive disorder with poor insight. The chronic falling disappeared completely when behavioral therapy was begun, but the girl still exhibits obsession and separation anxiety.

Adolescent↗

Endogenous opioid activity is associated with obsessive-compulsive symptomology in individuals with a family history of alcoholism.

Endogenous opioid activity has been associated with the regulation of mood and inhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We assessed differences in psychological symptomology and naloxone sensitivity in non-alcoholic males and females with a family history of alcoholism (FHP) and without a family history of alcoholism (FHN). This was followed by assessment of the association between naloxone sensitivity and psychological symptomology. Psychological symptomology was measured using the Revised Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R) during enrollment. Adrenocorticotropin was measured following intravenous administration of naloxone/placebo. FHP males reported more obsessive-compulsive symptomology as well as increased sensitivity to naloxone relative to other groups. A positive association was observed between degree of obsessive-compulsive symptomology and naloxone sensitivity, and the association was strongest among FHP males. These findings suggest that the increased risk of alcoholism in FHP subjects (especially males) may be associated with altered opioid activity, which is expressed through an elevated level of obsessive compulsive symptomology.

Adolescent↗

Insight in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a study of an Italian sample.

Insight is a complex phenomenon that can be interpreted according to a dimensional model. Given the controversial data of insight in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), our study aimed to investigate insight in an Italian sample of patients with OCD by means of the specific item on the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) and to explore the possible correlations between it and clinical features. One hundred and seventeen out-patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD and different comorbid psychiatric disorders were included in the study and assessed by means of the Y-BOCS, Hamilton rating scale for depression (HRSD) and the global clinical impression. The results showed that almost 50% of the patients had an excellent level of insight and 15% had a little or no insight. No correlation between levels of insight and clinical features was observed, except for a negative trend with the presence of somatic obsessions. In addition, a trend towards a lower level of insight was observed in those bipolar patients with a positive history of repeated manic or hypomanic episodes. Further studies seem to be necessary in order to establish whether or not OCD patients with poor insight represent a distinct sub-group of patients.

Adolescent↗

Olanzapine and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Clozapine and risperidone have been implicated in the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. We present three cases in which olanzapine caused a significant exacerbation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia (two cases) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (one case).

Adult↗

Treatment of severe, drug resistant obsessive compulsive disorder with the 5HT1D agonist sumatriptan.

The serotonergic system has been implicated in both the aetiology and pharmacological treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder. In pharmacological challenge tests, mCPP, a 5-HT agonist, with an affinity for 5HT2C as well as 5HT1A and 5HT1D receptors, was associated with a transient exacerbation of obsessive compulsive symptoms. Chronic administration of mCPP was found to bring about some relief of these symptoms. Sumatriptan is an antimigraine agent, which interacts most potently with 5HT1D receptors. In the cases to be presented, we report the effects of chronic administration of Sumatriptan to three severe, treatment resistant, OCD patients. Following chronic administration of sumatriptan, these patients, who have been resistant to any former pharmacological treatment, responded with an improvement in their depression and a modest reduction in their obsessive compulsive symptoms.

Adult↗

Tc-99m HMPAO brain perfusion SPECT in drug-free obsessive-compulsive patients without depression.

The aim of this study was to confirm prior results of brain-imaging studies on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in a sample of Turkish patients, as a cross-cultural study. Tc-99m HMPAO brain perfusion SPECT imaging was performed in nine drug-free OCD patients without depression and six controls. The patients' Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores were <16. The severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms was rated with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Rating Scale (YBOCS). Quantitative evaluation of regional cerebral blood flow revealed that right thalamus, left frontotemporal cortex and bilateral orbitofrontal cortex showed significant hyperperfusion in patients with OCD compared with controls. YBOCS scores did not show any correlation with hyperperfusion in regional cerebral blood flow in these areas. Results of this cross-cultural study may support orbitofrontal and thalamic dysfunction in OCD in a sample of Turkish patients.

Adult↗

Neural correlates of clinical symptoms and cognitive dysfunctions in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Although results from neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have postulated the involvement of the frontal lobe and the subcortical brain regions in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), neuroimaging studies have provided little evidence that cognitive abnormalities in patients with OCD are related to dysfunctions in these areas. This study was designed to determine whether the clinical features and cognitive deficits of OCD might be taken to reflect frontal-subcortical dysfunction. Fourteen patients with OCD and 14 case-matched normal subjects completed clinical and cognitive evaluation, including four sets of neuropsychological tests that assessed the executive functions and visual memory. Cerebral glucose metabolic rates were measured by using positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. Behavioral and PET data were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping for group differences and behavioral-metabolic correlates. The right orbitofrontal cortex showed increased metabolic activity and the left parieto-occipital junction showed decreased metabolic activity in patients. Metabolism in the right hippocampus, the left putamen and the right parietal region was associated with the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Correlations between metabolic rates and neuropsychological test scores in the prefrontal cortex and the putamen occurred only in the patient group. These results suggest that patients with OCD have distinct features of brain metabolic activities for performing cognitive tasks as well as presenting obsessive-compulsive symptoms. In particular, the frontal-subcortical circuits might mediate not only symptomatic expression but also cognitive expression in patients with OCD.

Adult↗

Cognitive control in childhood-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder: a functional MRI study.

BACKGROUND: Failure to resist chronic obsessive-compulsive symptoms may denote an altered state of cognitive control. We searched for the cerebral regions engaged in this dysfunction. METHOD: Differences in brain regional activity were examined by event-related functional magnetic regional imaging (fMRI) in a group of adolescents or young adults (n = 12) with childhood-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), relative to healthy subjects. Subjects performed a conflict task involving the presentation of two consecutive and possibly conflicting prime and target numbers. Patients' image dataset was further analysed according to resistance or non-resistance to symptoms during the scans. RESULTS: Using volume correction based on a priori hypotheses, an exploratory analysis revealed that, within the prime-target repetition condition, the OCD subjects activated more than healthy subjects a subregion of the anterior cingulate gyrus and the left parietal lobe. Furthermore, compared with 'resistant' patients, the 'non-resistant' OCD subjects activated a bilateral network including the precuneus, pulvinar and paracentral lobules. CONCLUSIONS: Higher regional activations suggest an abnormal amplification process in OCD subjects during the discrimination of repetitive visual stimuli. The regional distribution of functional changes may vary with the patients' ability to resist obsessions.

Adult↗

Insight in body dysmorphic disorder with and without comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to compare the level of insight in patients with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) with and without comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and to measure its possible relationships with clinical features. METHODS: Thirty outpatients affected by BDD, according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition criteria, of whom 18 were also suffering from OCD, were included in the study. Clinical assessment was carried out by means of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale modified for BDD and a specially designed OCD Questionnaire. The level of insight was measured by means of the score at item 11 of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale modified for BDD. RESULTS: The insight resulted to be excellent in four cases, good in four, fair in five, poor in 15 and absent in two. Significant and positive correlations were observed between the level of insight and the following items: resistance to thoughts and to activities as well as to time spent on activities and control on activities related to the defect. The insight was significantly lower in patients affected by both BDD and OCD. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the majority of BDD patients in this study, and especially those with comorbid OCD, have a low degree of insight that is significantly correlated to symptoms specific of the disorder.

Adolescent↗

A family-based association study of the 5-HT-1Dbeta receptor gene in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Pharmacological studies have shown that sumatriptan, a selective ligand of the serotonin 5-HT-1Dbeta autoreceptor, modifies obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. The current study analysed the G861C polymorphism of the 5-HT-1Dbeta gene in a sample of 72 trios. Genotyping data were analysed using the Family-Based Association Test (FBAT). We did not replicate the previously reported linkage disequilibrium between the G861 variant and OCD. However, a quantitative trait analysis, assessing severity of OCD symptoms and defined as YBOCS score, confirmed the finding that subjects with a preferential transmission of the G861 variant showed higher YBOCS Obsession scores compared to patients carrying the C861 allele. These preliminary findings may indicate that the 5-HT-1Dbeta receptor gene could be involved in the severity of obsession symptoms in OCD. However, it is important to perform the replication of these findings in larger sample sizes of informative families.

DNA↗

Obsessive-compulsive features in pathological lottery and scratch-ticket gamblers.

The results of this study support the notion that pathological gamblers drawn from the community would score higher on all three scores from the YBOCS than light gamblers. Consistent with hypotheses, pathological gamblers (lottery and scratch ticket) reported more obsessions, compulsions, and avoidance behavior than the light gamblers, and also reported having more urges to engage in injurious behaviors to themselves and others. These findings provide evidence that pathological gambling falls in a spectrum or family of disorders which have obsessive-compulsive disorder at its core. These findings support McElroy, Hudson, Philips, et al.'s (1993) suggestions of similarities between OCD and Impulse Control Disorders, and extend Blaszczynski (1999) findings of overlap between pathological gamblers and OCD in a treatment population. Heavy gamblers also reported significantly more hoarding symptoms and compulsive buying than light gamblers. More research in this area may show further evidence of a spectrum of disorders with obsessive compulsive disorder at its core, and show further links between impulse control disorders (such as pathological gambling) and OCD.

Adult↗