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Specificity of neuropsychological impairment in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A comparison with social phobic and normal control subjects
Abstract
Specificity of neuropsychological dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was assessed by comparing neuropsychological performance in 65 OCD patients, 17 social phobic patients, and 32 normal control subjects. Although both patient groups showed visual constructional impairment relative to normal subjects, only patients with social phobia showed executive dysfunction. Nonconcurrent state anxiety did not correlate with neuropsychological performance. Among anxiety disorders, neuropsychological dysfunction may not be specific to OCD, but the functions implicated may differ across patient groups.
... sample characteristics and neuropsychological findings from each study are shown in Table i. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] Table II includes a more detailed representation of the results and the specific neuropsychological tools used to assess cognitive functioning. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] across the 14 studies, the mean age of saD patients varied between 13.7 24 and 50.8 years. ...
... [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] Table II includes a more detailed representation of the results and the specific neuropsychological tools used to assess cognitive functioning. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] across the 14 studies, the mean age of saD patients varied between 13.7 24 and 50.8 years. 27 the reviewed studies employed a vast variety of neuropsychological tests to assess cognitive functioning in several non-affective cognitive domains (Table II). ...
... 20-30, 32, 33 thirteen studies explored the executive functioning of saD patients investigating selective attention and setshifting, sustained attention, processing speed cognitive flexibility, language, and spatial cognition. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][31][32][33] To measure verbal memory and ver-bal learning, among the most used tests were the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), and the subtest Digit span of the batteries Wechsler Adult intelligence scale-revised/third edition (Waisr; Wais-iii). visuospatial memory was most frequently examined through the use of the spa- ...
... A disturbance of cortico-striato-thalamocortical (CSTC) regulatory loops has been repeatedly demonstrated by brain-imaging studies [2][3][4][5]. Additionally, the characteristic symptoms of OCD including chronic doubts, repetitive checking, ruminations, decreased behavioral flexibility and ritual behavior [6] have been related to neuropsychological deficits in the areas of learning and memory [7][8][9], visuospatial processing [7,10] and executive functions [11][12][13]. ...
... A disturbance of cortico-striato-thalamocortical (CSTC) regulatory loops has been repeatedly demonstrated by brain-imaging studies [2][3][4][5]. Additionally, the characteristic symptoms of OCD including chronic doubts, repetitive checking, ruminations, decreased behavioral flexibility and ritual behavior [6] have been related to neuropsychological deficits in the areas of learning and memory [7][8][9], visuospatial processing [7,10] and executive functions [11][12][13]. ...
Background
Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) is a non-segmented, negative-strand RNA virus that persistently infects mammals including humans. BoDV-1 worldwide occurring strains display highly conserved genomes with overlapping genetic signatures between those of either human or animal origin. BoDV-1 infection may cause behavioral and cognitive disturbances in animals but has also been found in human major depression and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the impact of BoDV-1 on memory functions in OCD is unknown.
Method
To evaluate the cognitive impact of BoDV-1 in OCD, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded in a continuous word recognition paradigm in OCD patients (n = 16) and in healthy controls (n = 12). According to the presence of BoDV-1-specific circulating immune complexes (CIC), they were divided into two groups, namely group H (high) and L (low), n = 8 each. Typically, ERPs to repeated items are characterized by more positive waveforms beginning approximately 250 ms post-stimulus. This “old/new effect” has been shown to be relevant for memory processing. The early old/new effect (ca. 300–500 ms) with a frontal distribution is proposed to be a neural correlate of familiarity-based recognition. The late old/new effect (post-500 ms) is supposed to reflect memory recollection processes.
Results
OCD patients were reported to show a normal early old/new effect and a reduced late old/new effect compared to normal controls. In our study, OCD patients with a high virus load (group H) displayed exactly these effects, while patients with a low virus load (group L) did not differ from healthy controls.
Conclusion
These results confirmed that OCD patients had impaired memory recollection processes compared to the normal controls which may to some extent be related to their BoDV-1 infection.
... In the successful review carried out by O'Toole and Pedersen [11], a total of 30 neuropsychological studies in patients diagnosed with SAD were compared. From all studies dealing with executive functions, only one found differences between groups diagnosed with SAD and healthy control (HC) groups [12]. From a total of five studies, two used the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) to measure set-shifting [13,14]; in none of these were differences found among patients with SAD and HC. ...
... Neuropsychological studies comparing executive functions among groups diagnosed with OCD, SAD and/or GAD are less frequent than those comparing a single type of disorder to HC. Cohen et al. [12] observed significant differences among patients with OCD and SAD in cognitive flexibility assessed with Trail Marking Test B-TMT B [22]. In the same vein, Kim et al. [23] reported that the OCD and GAD groups performed worse than the HC groups. ...
This study analyzed response inhibition, cognitive flexibility and working memory in three groups of patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, considering some variables that may influence results (nonverbal reasoning, comorbidity, use of pharmacotherapy). Neuropsychological measures were completed using a computerized Wisconsin card sorting test, Stroop color word test, go/no-go task, digits and Corsi. Significant differences were obtained among groups in cognitive flexibility and working memory variables. The obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) group showed the worst results. The social anxiety disorder group obtained greater effect sizes in visuospatial memory. However, significant differences between groups in visuospatial memory were no longer present when nonverbal reasoning was controlled. Comorbidity influenced interference in the OCD and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) groups. In addition, the executive functions were differently influenced by the level of obsessions and anxiety, and the use of pharmacotherapy. Study limitations include a non-random selection of participants, modest sample size and design type (cross-sectional). The OCD group showed the worst results in flexibility cognitive and verbal working memory. Comorbidity, use of pharmacotherapy and level anxiety and obsessions were variables influencing the performance of executive functions.
... 28 Reductions in synaptic density in the middle occipital gyrus may contribute to deficits in 'posterior' cognitive functions such as memory and perceptual ability observed in patients with OCD. 29 Our research findings showed a more pronounced decrease in synaptic density in the left brain regions, This intriguing finding may be due to our selection of right-handed patients with OCD, whose dominant hemisphere is the left brain. This aligns with previous findings that the abnormal brain function in patients with OCD is concentrated in the left brain hemisphere. ...
Background
Understanding synaptic alteration in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is crucial for elucidating its pathological mechanisms, but in vivo research on this topic remains limited.
Aims
This study aimed to identify the synaptic density indicators in OCD and explore the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and synaptic density changes in OCD.
Methods
This study enrolled 28 drug-naive adults with OCD aged 18–40 years and 16 healthy controls (HCs). Three-dimensional T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging and ¹⁸ F-SynVesT-1 positron emission tomography were conducted. Cognitive function was assessed using the Wisconsin Cart Sorting Test (WCST) in patients with OCD and HCs. Correlative analysis was performed to examine the association between synaptic density reduction and cognitive dysfunction.
Results
Compared with HCs, patients with OCD showed reduced synaptic density in regions of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit such as the bilateral putamen, left caudate, left parahippocampal gyrus, left insula, left parahippocampal gyrus and left middle occipital lobe (voxel p<0.001, uncorrected, with cluster level above 50 contiguous voxels). The per cent conceptual-level responses of WCST were positively associated with the synaptic density reduction in the left middle occipital gyrus (R ² =0.1690, p=0.030), left parahippocampal gyrus (R ² =0.1464, p=0.045) and left putamen (R ² =0.1967, p=0.018) in patients with OCD.
Conclusions
Adults with OCD demonstrated lower ¹⁸ F-labelled difluoro analogue of ¹⁸ F-SynVesT-1 compared with HCs, indicating potentially lower synaptic density. This is the first study to explore the synaptic density in patients with OCD and provides insights into potential biological targets for cognitive dysfunctions in OCD.
... In the Rey Verbal Learning Test, a statistically significant difference was determined between the groups, showing that the instantaneous memory, language skills and learning points of the OCD group were insufficient. Previous studies have shown that verbal memory functions are not affected in OCD patients (Boone et al., 1991;Zielinski et al., 1991;Martin et al., 1995;Cohen et al., 1996;Mataix-Cols et al., 1999). The verbal memory was actually protected but as the information encoding method was not developed, the result of impaired verbal memory was produced in the test. ...
The aim of the study was to evaluation of neuropsychological areas to determine whether or not there were cognitive differences and whether the impairment was in a specific form in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients compared to healthy control subjects. The sample comprised 30 patients aged 16-65 years diagnosed with OCD, and a control group of 30 age and gender-matched healthy volunteers. According to the DSM diagnostic criteria, various neurocognitive tests were applied to the patients diagnosed with OCD. A statistically significant difference was determined between the two groups in respect of the WCST scores. No statistically significant difference was determined between the groups in respect of the Forward, Reverse, or total Digit Span Test values. WAIS-R; The results of this test were determined as a mean of 43.1 ± 15.4 in the OCD group and 56.2 ± 6.8 in the control group, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant. When the groups were examined in terms of interference errors, the value of 2.2 ± 2.8 in the OCD group was determined to be statistically significantly greater than the 0.8 ± 0.8 value of the control group. A statistically significant difference was determined between the groups in respect of the mean words counted with perseverance by the OCD group (1.7 ± 2.1) and the control group (0.6 ± 0.8). It can be said that combining cognitive function impairments specific to OCD with neuroimaging studies would be useful in understanding OCD symptoms in more detail. Thus, new treatment strategies could be developed.
... Based on the examination of the potentially eligible full-text records by the three authors, 55 records (3.64% unpublished) met all criteria and had sufficient data to compute effect sizes (Airaksinen et al., 2005;Amir et al., 1996;Andrews and Anderson, 1998;Asmundson et al., 1994;Boldrini et al., 2005;Bourke et al., 2012;Carter et al., 1992;Castillo et al., 2010;Cody et al., 2014;Cohen et al., 1996;De Cort et al., 2008;Del-Monte et al., 2013;Demetriou et al., 2018;Dorahy et al., 2006;Dupont et al., 2000;Fujii et al., 2013;Galderisi et al., 2008;Graver, 2004;Günther et al., 2004;Hardin et al., 2007Hardin et al., , 2009John, 2005;Kampman et al., 2002;Kaplan et al., 2006;Kim et al., 2019;Korenblum et al., 2007;Kurt et al., 2017;Ladouceur et al., 2005Ladouceur et al., , 2006Lautenbacher et al., 2002;Lea et al., 2018;Lim and Kim, 2005;Mantella et al., 2007;Martin et al., 1991;Mattia et al., 1993;McNally et al., 1990McNally et al., , 1994Mogg et al., 2015;Olatunji et al., 2008;O'Toole et al., 2015;Price and Mohlman, 2007;Purcell et al., 1998;Rosa-Alcazar et al., 2019;Rosnick et al., 2013;Stefanopoulou et al., 2014;Tempesta et al., 2013;Thorpe and Salkovskis, 1997;Topçuo glu et al., 2009;Toren et al., 2000;Waechter et al., 2018;Wen et al., 2019;Yoon et al., 2014Yoon et al., , 2017Zhou and Ni, 2017). All eligible studies were conducted from 1990 to 2019, in 20 countries across five continents. ...
Anxiety disorders, one of the most common classes of psychological disorders, have been shown to result in a decreased quality of life. Although some research suggests that anxiety disorders are linked to impairments in executive functioning, the inconsistency in the current literature yields an unclear conclusion on the relationship between the two. The current meta-analysis systematically investigated 55 records (N = 4601; kReactionTime = 44, kAccuracy = 79) that compared various groups with anxiety disorders to healthy controls on executive function tasks. Overall, our meta-analysis showed that individuals with anxiety disorders exhibited significant deficits in performance efficiency (reaction times) on executive function tasks. However, we also found that individuals with anxiety disorders may outperform their healthy peers in performance effectiveness (task accuracy) in some conditions. Type of anxiety disorders, domain of executive functions, and mediation use were identified to moderate the overall relations between anxiety disorders and executive functioning. Nevertheless, the results were robust across important demographic and other clinical moderators (e.g., anxiety severity and comorbidity).
Introduction:
Despite the similarities in poor social competence and clinical manifestations of poor social behavior, no study has compared the theory of mind performance between social anxiety disorder (SAD) and schizophrenia, considering the effect of social-evaluative anxiety and neurocognitive functions. In our study, we aimed to compare the theory of mind functions and social-evaluative anxiety between patients with SAD and schizophrenia and healthy controls and to examine the relationship between the theory of mind, neurocognitive skills, and social-evaluative anxiety.
Methods:
Thirty-four consecutive patients with schizophrenia, 29 patients with SAD, and 30 controls matched by age, education level, and sex were enrolled in the study. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM, Beck Depression Inventory, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Theory of Mind measures (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, Hinting Task, Faux Pas Test), Social Appearance Anxiety Scale, Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale-Short Form, and neuropsychological tests were administered to all participants.
Results:
A greater significant deterioration in theory of mind and neurocognitive functions was found in patients with schizophrenia compared to those with SAD and healthy controls. Social evaluation anxiety was highest in patients with SAD. Although social-evaluative anxiety was associated with the theory of mind function in schizophrenia, only fear of positive evaluation was associated with SAD. In all groups, neither theory of mind nor neurocognitive ability measures were correlated with social anxiety levels and related symptoms.
Conclusions:
The impaired theory of mind functioning detected in our study is more prominent in the schizophrenia group and largely independent of anxiety in schizophrenia and SAD. Although social evaluation anxiety, as a transdiagnostic concept, seems to be independent of theory of mind function in general, fear of positive evaluation seems to be associated with hinting in both disorders.
Résumé Récemment, des chercheurs ont examiné la nature causale des biais attentionnels envers la menace (BA) dans le maintien des troubles anxieux, et ce en manipulant expérimentalement BA. Ils ont observé qu’entraîner des personnes souffrant d’anxiété à porter leur attention vers des stimuli non menaçants réduisait BA qui, en retour, réduisait le niveau de symptomatologie anxieuse. Cette observation soutient l’hypothèse que BA aurait un impact causal dans le maintien de l’anxiété. Cela étant, à un niveau fondamental, des incertitudes demeurent quant à la nature des processus sous-tendant le maintien de BA et, par conséquent, la plasticité de BA. Selon une première approche, le maintien de BA dans l’anxiété serait le résultat d’un système déficitaire d’évaluation de la valence. Selon une deuxième approche, BA résulterait d’un processus déficitaire de contrôle exécutif. L’objectif principal de cet article est de mettre en concurrence ces deux approches. Plus particulièrement, le présent article est structuré autour de trois questions principales. Premièrement, nous discutons l’hypothèse selon laquelle BA pourrait être la conséquence d’un système déficitaire d’évaluation de la valence. Ensuite, nous discutons de la possibilité que BA soit le résultat de perturbations au niveau des processus de contrôle exécutif. Finalement, nous discutons des interactions potentielles qui pourraient unir ces deux approches dans l’avènement de BA. L’implication potentielle de ces deux approches dans l’apparition de biais situés à d’autres niveaux de traitement et dans d’autres modalités sensorielles est également envisagée.
The spectrum of autoimmune and inflammatory brain diseases continues to evolve with medical advances facilitating both the detection of inflammation of the central nervous system and the discovery of novel disease mechanisms. The clinical overlap of these disorders with primary rheumatic diseases and the efficacy of immunotherapy have led to strong partnerships between pediatric rheumatologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, and other providers in the care of children with these conditions. Early diagnosis and initiation of targeted therapy improve clinical outcomes, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary collaborative care.
Background
The negative appraisal of emotional stimuli is a feature of social anxiety disorder (SAD). People with SAD demonstrate deficits in neurocognitive performance while performing tasks of attention. However, the relationship between attentional control, working memory, and threat perception in SAD has not been studied well. The present study aimed to identify patterns of threat perception in relation to performance on attention and visuospatial working memory tasks in individuals with SAD.
Methods
Subjects with SAD ( n = 27) and a healthy comparative (HC) group ( n = 26) completed tasks of sustained and focused attention, visuospatial working memory, computerized emotion identification, and pictorial emotional Stroop.
Results
The SAD group had decreased performance in the domains of sustained (P = 0.001) and focused attention (P = 0.04). They also had an enhanced threat perception as demonstrated by greater reaction time to anger (P = 0.03), lower emotion recognition accuracy (P = 0.05), and higher over-identification of the threat to neutral and nonthreatening faces. However, the Stroop effect was not demonstrated across the groups. No group difference was seen in the performance on the visuospatial working memory tasks. Lower focused attention was significantly correlated with higher emotional threat perception (ETP; P = 0.001) in the SAD group.
Conclusion
People with SAD have greater deficits in attention processing and ETP. The attention deficits were associated with enhanced ETP in social anxiety. The link between threat perception and cognitive functions would aid in a better understanding of SAD and in planning appropriate intervention.
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