Functional alterations of large-scale brain networks related to cognitive control in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Neuroimaging studies have consistently implicated alterations of the basal ganglia and orbitofrontal cortex in the pathophysiology of OCD, however, recent work also emphasizes more diffuse patterns of brain alteration as occurring in this disorder. The goal of this study was to extend such observations by investigating large-scale brain functional network correlates of cognitive-control performance in OCD patients.

We combined fMRI with a validated task of cognitive control and a multivariate statistical method to assess multiple functional networks encompassing broad task-relevant cortical regions in OCD patients and matched controls. Functional networks of interest were targeted a priori and the groups were compared in terms of the spatiotemporal profile of network responses (functional connectivity) during the task performance in a data-driven manner.

Task performance was equivalent in both groups and each distinct network demonstrated strong overlap in its general response during task. However, significant differences in functional connectivity were also observed between groups that appeared driven by specific phases of task performance. Such differences were most pronounced during rest-task transitions and mainly involved dorsal anterior cingulate and insular cortices within the paralimbic network. Relative heightened functional connectivity of insula in patients during task correlated with a measure of patients' state anxiety.

Our findings provide a novel functional imaging characterization of brain network alterations associated with cognitive-control in OCD. Additionally, these findings raise questions about the role of patients' arousal states on the performance of cognitive imaging tasks that are otherwise assumed to be emotionally neutral.