Reduced prefrontal gyrification in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Structural MRI studies indicate brain abnormalities in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), including reduced gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex.
• Prefrontal cortical folding (gyrification) disturbances are noted in schizophrenia, suggesting neurodevelopmental links, but have not been studied in OCD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate prefrontal gyrification in patients with OCD compared to healthy controls.
• To explore potential neurodevelopmental origins of OCD based on cortical folding patterns.

Main Methods:

• Structural MRI scans were acquired from 26 OCD patients and 38 healthy controls.
• Automated gyrification index (A-GI) was used to measure bilateral prefrontal cortical folding.
• Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to compare A-GI between groups, controlling for age and education.

Main Results:

• OCD patients exhibited significantly reduced A-GI in the left prefrontal cortex (p=0.021).
• A trend towards decreased A-GI was observed in the right prefrontal cortex of OCD patients (p=0.076).
• Correlations between prefrontal lobe volume and A-GI were significant in controls but not in OCD patients.

Conclusions:

• Prefrontal hypogyrification in OCD may represent a structural correlate of executive function impairments.
• The findings suggest a potential neurodevelopmental etiology for obsessive-compulsive disorder.