Network-based decoupling of local gyrification in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Gyrification, a measure of cortical folding, is crucial for neurodevelopment.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is linked to neurodevelopmental factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate structural covariance network disruptions in OCD using gyrification.
• To explore the relationship between gyrification, OCD symptom severity, and age of onset.

Main Methods:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to acquire brain scans from 97 OCD patients and 92 healthy controls.
• Graph theoretical modeling and network-based statistics were applied to structural covariance networks derived from local gyrification indices.
• Global and local graph theoretical measures, including characteristic path length and clustering coefficient, were analyzed.

Main Results:

• A significant decrease in structural covariance was observed in ventral brain regions of OCD patients (p = .041).
• Patients showed impaired normalized characteristic path length (p = .051), indicating global integration deficits.
• The left middle frontal sulcus exhibited a reduced local clustering coefficient (p < .001), and frontal gyrification correlated with age of onset.

Conclusions:

• Altered gyrification networks in OCD, concentrated in late-developing ventral areas, suggest time-locked neurodevelopmental alterations.
• Frontal gyrification's correlation with age of onset points to a potential structural trait marker for OCD.
• Impaired global integration capabilities may indicate widespread neurodevelopmental changes in OCD.