Lateralized readiness potentials and sensorimotor activity in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with functional abnormalities in prefrontal and motor areas.
• Impaired response preparation processes may be a core feature of OCD, particularly given the presence of compulsions.
• Neurophysiological studies on response preparation in OCD are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neurophysiological differences in response preparation between OCD patients and healthy controls.
• To examine the role of sensorimotor activity in the pathophysiology of OCD.

Main Methods:

• Nineteen OCD patients and 19 matched healthy controls underwent continuous electroencephalography (EEG) recording.
• Participants performed a stimulus-response compatibility task.
• Stimulus- and response-locked Late Reproductive Potentials (LRPs) were analyzed for onset, Gratton dip, and peak amplitude.

Main Results:

• OCD patients displayed significantly larger LRP peak amplitude and Gratton dip compared to controls.
• No significant group differences were found in LRP onset.
• Motor region overactivity during response preparation was observed in OCD patients, irrespective of response execution.

Conclusions:

• OCD patients exhibit heightened sensorimotor activity during response preparation.
• These findings suggest that motor region overactivity may contribute to OCD symptoms.
• Regulation of sensorimotor activity warrants consideration in the therapeutic strategies for OCD.