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Related Experiment Videos

Mapping structural brain alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Jesús Pujol1, Carles Soriano-Mas, Pino Alonso

  • 1Magnetic Resonance Center of Pedralbes, Barcelona, Spain. jpujol@cetir.es

Archives of General Psychiatry
|July 9, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with specific brain structural changes, including reduced gray matter in frontal regions and increased volume in the putamen and cerebellum. These findings help refine biological models of OCD.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Advanced imaging techniques enable comprehensive brain anatomy assessment in psychiatric conditions.
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex psychiatric disorder with suspected neurobiological underpinnings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate structural brain alterations in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) using advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  • To evaluate volumetric changes across the entire brain in a large cohort of OCD patients.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study involving 72 outpatients with OCD and 72 matched controls.
  • Utilized three-dimensional MRI sequences and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) for voxelwise analysis.
  • Preserved volumetric information using Jacobian determinants for accurate volume change measurement.

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Main Results:

  • OCD patients exhibited reduced gray matter volume in the medial frontal gyrus, medial orbitofrontal cortex, and left insulo-opercular region.
  • Observed increased gray matter volume bilaterally in the ventral putamen and anterior cerebellum.
  • Specific brain alterations were abnormally correlated in OCD patients; age influenced striatal enlargement. Reduced amygdala volume was noted in patients with aggressive obsessions and checking compulsions.

Conclusions:

  • The identified anatomical patterns in OCD align with functional neuroimaging findings.
  • Highlighted alterations in the frontostriatal system and connected distant regions in OCD.
  • These structural brain changes provide further definition for OCD and inform its biological models.