Low-resolution electromagnetic tomography and treatment response in obsessive-compulsive disorder

We investigated whether findings from pretreatment low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) predicted response to drug treatment in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The 3D intra-cerebral distribution of neuronal electrical activity from the scalp-recorded potential distribution of 17 drug-free patients with OCD was assessed with LORETA. They were treated with antidepressants in the maximum tolerated doses for at least 12 wk. Individuals were considered to be treatment responders if they displayed a reduction of at least 35% on the initial YBOCS scores and had a final CGI score of 1 or 2. The SPM-99 t test for independent samples was employed to compare, voxel-by-voxel, the brain electrical activities of responders (n = 10) and non-responders (n = 7). Responders exhibited significantly lower activities in beta band in the rostral anterior cingulate [Brodmann's area (BA) 24 and 32] (p = 0.002) and the medial frontal gyrus (BA 10) (p = 0.002), suggesting that a distinctive pattern of activity within the medial surface of the frontal lobe predicts therapeutic response in OCD.