Functional connectivity alterations between default mode network and occipital cortex in patients with...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Altered brain network connectivity is a potential biomarker for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
• A previous meta-analysis identified altered functional connectivity within and between the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and frontoparietal network (FPN) in OCD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the replicability of prior meta-analytic resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) findings in a new sample of OCD patients.
• To investigate functional connectivity differences between OCD patients and matched controls.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) was used to measure functional connectivity in 24 OCD patients and 33 matched controls.
• Seed-to-voxel analyses were performed using 30 seed regions from a previous meta-analysis.
• Statistical analyses compared functional connectivity between patient and control groups.

Main Results:

• OCD patients showed reduced functional connectivity between the SN and DMN compared to controls, replicating prior findings.
• No significant group differences were found within the DMN, SN, or FPN.
• Reduced connectivity was observed between the visual network and both the DMN and SN in OCD patients.
• Connectivity between a DMN-associated region and the visual cortex/precuneus was positively correlated with OCD symptom severity.

Conclusions:

• The study partly replicated prior meta-analytic findings, supporting hypoconnectivity between the SN and DMN as a potential OCD biomarker.
• Novel findings indicate altered connectivity between the SN/DMN and the visual network in OCD.
• Aberrant connectivity between transmodal and unimodal cortex regions may play a significant role in OCD pathophysiology.