P300 and delay-discounting in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Fronto-striatal neural network dysfunctions are implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) pathophysiology.
• Altered decision-making performance is observed in OCD patients.
• P300 event-related potential, linked to attention and cognitive processes, is of interest in OCD research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate P300 characteristics in OCD patients.
• To examine associations between P300 and brain activity during decision-making in OCD.
• To explore potential fronto-striatal network alterations in OCD.

Main Methods:

• Auditory oddball paradigm to analyze P300 (peak latency, amplitude, source density power) in 19 OCD patients and 19 controls using sLORETA.
• fMRI with Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast imaging during a delay-discounting paradigm.
• Correlation analysis between P300 measures and frontal activity.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in P300 characteristics between OCD patients and controls.
• P300 latency over P4 electrode negatively correlated with openness to experience in OCD patients.
• In controls, P300 source density power correlated with frontal activity during reward processing; this association was absent in OCD patients.

Conclusions:

• P300 is associated with frontal brain activation during delay-discounting, suggesting roles in attentional or context updating processes.
• The absence of this association in OCD patients supports the hypothesis of fronto-striatal neural network dysfunctions in the disorder.
• Findings highlight potential neurophysiological markers for OCD pathophysiology.