Striatal circuits, habits, and implications for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders are increasingly linked to corticostriatal circuit dysfunction.
• Compulsive behaviors in OCD may stem from a loss of control over habitual behaviors, similar to automated actions.
• Genetic discoveries and animal models further support the role of striatal circuits in OCD pathophysiology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the evidence implicating corticostriatal circuits in OCD.
• To explore the connection between habitual behaviors and compulsive acts in OCD.
• To identify frontostriatal circuits as potential therapeutic targets for OCD.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing human neuroimaging studies.
• Analysis of genetic findings related to OCD syndromes.
• Examination of functional studies in animal models of OCD.

Main Results:

• Growing evidence points to abnormalities in frontostriatal circuits in OCD.
• Parallels exist between compulsive behaviors and automated actions, suggesting a loss of behavioral control.
• Genetic and neurobiological research converges on frontostriatal pathways.

Conclusions:

• Frontostriatal circuits, connecting basal ganglia, thalamus, and brainstem, are implicated in OCD.
• Dysfunction in these circuits is a key factor in the pathophysiology of OCD.
• These circuits represent promising targets for novel therapeutic interventions in OCD.