Biria, Marjan;
Banca, Paula;
Keser, Engin;
Sawiak, Stephen J;
de Souza, Ana Maria Frota Lisboa Pereira;
Marzuki, Aleya A;
Sule, Akeem;
(2024)
Excessive Checking in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Neurochemical Correlates Revealed by 7T Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.
Biological Society Global Open Science
, 4
(1)
pp. 363-373.
10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.08.009.
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Abstract
Background: Compulsive checking, a common symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), has been difficult to capture experimentally. Therefore, determination of its neural basis remains challenging despite some evidence suggesting that it is linked to dysfunction of cingulostriatal systems. This study introduces a novel experimental paradigm to measure excessive checking and its neurochemical correlates. Methods: Thirty-one patients with OCD and 29 healthy volunteers performed a decision-making task requiring them to decide whether 2 perceptually similar visual representations were the same or different under a high-uncertainty condition without feedback. Both groups underwent 7T magnetic resonance spectroscopy scans on the same day. Correlations between out-of-scanner experimental measures of checking and the glutamate/GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) ratio in the anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area, and occipital cortex were assessed. Their relationship with subjective ratings of doubt, anxiety, and confidence was also investigated. Results: Patients with OCD exhibited excessive and dysfunctional checking, which was significantly correlated with changes in the glutamate/GABA ratio within the anterior cingulate cortex. No behavioral/neurochemical relationships were evident for either the supplementary motor area or occipital cortex. The excessive checking observed in patients was negatively correlated with their confidence levels and positively related to doubt, anxiety, and compulsivity traits. Conclusions: We conclude that experimental measures of excessive and dysfunctional checking in OCD, which have been linked to increased doubt, anxiety, and lack of confidence, are related to an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neural activity within the anterior cingulate cortex. This study adds to our understanding of the role of this region in OCD by providing a laboratory model of the possible development of compulsive checking.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Excessive Checking in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Neurochemical Correlates Revealed by 7T Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.08.009 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.08.009 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | ©2023 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier Inc on behalf of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Neurosciences, Psychiatry, Neurosciences & Neurology, DIRECT-CURRENT STIMULATION, CORTICAL GLUTAMATE, SENSORY PHENOMENA, DECISION-MAKING, UNCERTAINTY, SCALE, BEHAVIORS, MEMORY, RESPONSIBILITY, PERFORMANCE |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Mental Health Neuroscience |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10191809 |
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