Inhibitory control and error processing in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A mega-analysis of task-based fMRI data by...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is linked to impaired inhibitory control and heightened error monitoring.
• These cognitive deficits may perpetuate obsessions and compulsions in OCD.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate neural activation during response inhibition and error processing in individuals with OCD.
• Utilize adult and pediatric data from the ENIGMA-OCD consortium and ABCD study for a comprehensive mega-analysis.

Main Methods:

• Uniform processing of individual participant data using HALFpipe to extract statistical maps.
• Employ Bayesian multilevel models to analyze regional and whole-brain effects of OCD.
• Examine the association between OCD clinical profile and task-related brain activation.

Main Results:

• Both individuals with OCD and controls showed significant activation in relevant brain regions during tasks.
• Adults with OCD exhibited stronger somatomotor cortex activation during response inhibition, while children showed stronger occipital cortex activation.
• Children with likely OCD displayed reduced frontoparietal network activity in the anterior insula/frontal operculum; adults with OCD showed weaker fronto-striatal activation during error processing.

Conclusions:

• Observed brain activation differences during inhibitory control tasks in OCD are age-dependent.
• OCD symptom severity is a key correlate of activation during inhibition, indicating state-dependent and developmentally specific deficits.