Impaired planning in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and unaffected first-degree relatives: Evidence for...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with planning deficits.
• Impaired planning may be an endophenotype of OCD, but previous findings are inconsistent.
• Variability in task design and small sample sizes may explain inconsistencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate planning capacity in OCD patients and their first-degree relatives using a standardized computerized Tower of London (TOL) task.
• To determine if planning deficits in OCD are state-independent and represent an endophenotype.
• To examine the influence of task complexity on planning performance across groups.

Main Methods:

• A computerized Tower of London (TOL) task with a 2x2 factorial design (search depth x goal state) was administered.
• Participants included 72 OCD patients, 76 unaffected first-degree relatives, and 102 healthy controls.
• Performance accuracy was compared across groups, with analyses considering task variables and clinical factors.

Main Results:

• Both OCD patients and their relatives demonstrated significantly poorer problem-solving accuracy compared to controls.
• Performance differences were consistent across varying search depths and goal complexities.
• Medication, symptom severity, and depressive comorbidity did not influence TOL performance in OCD patients.

Conclusions:

• Deficient planning performance on the TOL task in OCD patients and relatives supports impaired planning as an endophenotype of OCD.
• These findings suggest a robust, state-independent planning deficit in individuals with OCD and their relatives.
• The results contribute to evidence implicating fronto-striatal dysfunction in the pathophysiology of OCD.