Sustained attention in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a controlled study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Attentional processes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) research yield inconsistent findings.
• Sustained attention is a critical cognitive function potentially impacted in OCD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate sustained attention in OCD patients using the Degraded Stimulus Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT).
• To compare the sensitivity decrement over time in OCD patients versus control subjects.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the DS-CPT to assess sustained attention in 20 OCD patients and 25 controls.
• Employed a neuropsychiatric structured diagnostic interview and psychometric battery for all participants.
• Analyzed sensitivity index changes and response criteria shifts during the DS-CPT.

Main Results:

• Both OCD patients and controls exhibited a significant sensitivity decrement during the DS-CPT.
• No significant difference in the rate of sensitivity decrease was observed between OCD patients and controls.
• OCD patients did not demonstrate a greater decline in sustained attention compared to controls.
• A positive correlation was found between OCD Y-BOCS compulsion scores and CPT sensitivity index.
• A negative correlation was observed between Y-BOCS compulsive scores and CPT false alarm scores.

Conclusions:

• OCD patients do not exhibit disturbances in sustained attention during tasks with increased processing load.
• Findings suggest that sustained attention is not a primary cognitive deficit in OCD.
• Response criteria adjustments were noted in both groups during sustained attention tasks.