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Protocol for Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Symptom Provocation to Treat Obsessive-compulsive Disorder
Published on: November 25, 2025
Transcranial sonography in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Paraskevi Mavrogiorgou1, Fabio Nalato, Saskia Meves
1Dept. of Psychiatry, Ruhr University Bochum, LWL-Universitätsklinikum, Alexandrinenstr. 1, 44791 Bochum, Germany.
Journal of Psychiatric Research
|August 13, 2013
Summary
Transcranial sonography revealed significant differences in brain structure for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. OCD individuals showed altered echogenicity in brainstem raphe nuclei and the caudate nucleus.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Basal ganglia involvement is implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) pathogenesis.
- Central serotonergic dysfunction is a hypothesized cause of OCD.
- Transcranial sonography (TCS) is a non-invasive tool for evaluating movement disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate parenchymal alterations in basal ganglia and brainstem raphe nuclei in OCD patients using TCS.
- To explore potential correlations between TCS findings and OCD pathophysiology.
- To assess the utility of TCS in understanding OCD.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-one OCD patients and 31 healthy controls were compared.
- Transcranial sonography (TCS) was used to examine echogenicity in specific brain regions.
- Siemens Sonoline Elegra system utilized according to extrapyramidal disorder protocols.
Main Results:
- OCD patients exhibited reduced echogenicity in serotonergic brainstem raphe nuclei (32.3%) compared to controls (16.1%).
- Hyperechogenicity of the caudate nucleus was observed in 31% of OCD patients versus 6.2% of controls.
- Findings suggest altered serotonergic neurons and potential cell changes in OCD.
Conclusions:
- OCD patients demonstrate distinct TCS patterns, including hypoechogenic brainstem raphe and hyperechogenic caudate nucleus.
- These findings may reflect underlying serotonergic and cellular alterations in OCD.
- Further research is needed to determine TCS's role in classifying OCD and its subtypes.
