Executive control in obsessive-compulsive disorder: event-related potentials in a Go/Nogo task

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with hyperactive cortico-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuits.
• This hyperactivity clinically manifests as impaired inhibition of repetitive thoughts and behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate event-related potentials (ERPs) in patients with OCD during a response inhibition task.
• To examine the Nogo-N2 and Nogo-P3 ERP components in relation to executive control in OCD.

Main Methods:

• Thirteen patients with OCD and thirteen matched healthy controls underwent multichannel EEG recording.
• Participants performed a hybrid flanker-Go/Nogo task measuring response inhibition.
• Event-related potentials (ERPs), specifically Nogo-N2 and Nogo-P3, were analyzed for correct Go and Nogo trials.

Main Results:

• Patients with OCD displayed significantly enhanced (more negative) Nogo-N2 amplitudes compared to controls.
• A significant difference in Nogo-N2 amplitudes between Nogo and Go trials was observed at central midline electrodes in OCD patients.
• No significant group differences were found for Nogo-P3 and Go-P3 amplitudes.

Conclusions:

• The findings replicate and extend previous research on altered executive control processes in OCD.
• Enhanced Nogo-N2 amplitudes suggest specific deficits in response inhibition mechanisms within the cortico-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuitry in OCD.