Abnormally Enhanced Midfrontal Theta Activity During Response Monitoring in Youths With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibit abnormal response monitoring, often quantified by enhanced error-related negativity (ERN) in electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings.
• The ERN primarily reflects phase-locked theta-band (4-8 Hz) activity, potentially overlooking non-phase-locked theta activity crucial for complex cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate abnormalities in midfrontal theta activity during response monitoring in pediatric OCD.
• To gain a deeper understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying ERN in OCD.

Main Methods:

• EEG data were collected from 99 pediatric participants with OCD and 99 matched healthy controls during an arrow flanker task.
• Mixed analysis of covariance and Bayesian analyses examined group (OCD vs. control) and response type (error vs. correct) effects on postresponse theta total power and intertrial phase coherence (ITPC), controlling for sex and accuracy.

Main Results:

• Theta total power was significantly higher on error trials compared to correct trials and was also elevated in the OCD group versus the control group.
• Theta intertrial phase coherence (ITPC) was higher on error trials than correct trials, but no significant group differences or interaction effects were found for ITPC.
• Correlations between theta total power, ITPC, and clinical measures were generally small.

Conclusions:

• Abnormally enhanced midfrontal theta total power in pediatric OCD may indicate ineffective heightened response monitoring.
• Alternatively, this enhanced theta activity could represent compensatory neural mechanisms at play in pediatric OCD.