Neuropsychological models of childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder

Neuropsychological models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) point to a fairly consistent pattern of deficits in response inhibition, visual memory, and visuoperceptual functioning. However, little is known about these areas of functioning with respect to child onset OCD because most studies to date have focused on adults. Data from adult OCD studies nevertheless provide valuable heuristic models of functioning that need to be systematically assessed in children. Moreover, combining neuro-psychological assessment with neuroimaging methods is a particularly powerful approach that promises to delineate the pathobiology of these disorders more precisely and to determine the degree of overlap between child and adult onset forms of OCD.