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Inhibition-related cortical hypoconnectivity as a candidate vulnerability marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Inhibition-related cortical hypoconnectivity as a candidate vulnerability marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder
Inhibition-related cortical hypoconnectivity as a candidate vulnerability marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder
Background
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent neuropsychiatric condition, with biological models implicating disruption of cortically mediated inhibitory control pathways, ordinarily serving to regulate our environmental responses and habits. The aim of this study was to evaluate inhibition-related cortical dysconnectivity as a novel candidate vulnerability marker of OCD.

Methods
In total, 20 patients with OCD, 18 clinically asymptomatic first-degree relatives of patients with OCD, and 20 control participants took part in a neuroimaging study comprising a functional magnetic resonance imaging stop signal task. Brain activations during the contrasts of interest were cluster thresholded, and a three-dimensional watershed algorithm was used to decompose activation maps into discrete clusters. Functional connections between these key neural nodes were examined using a generalized psychophysiological interaction model.

Results
The three groups did not differ in terms of age, education level, gender, IQ, or behavioral task parameters. Patients with OCD exhibited hyperactivation of the bilateral occipital cortex during the task versus the other groups. Compared with control participants, patients with OCD and their relatives exhibited significantly reduced connectivity between neural nodes, including frontal cortical, middle occipital cortical, and cerebellar regions, during the stop signal task.

Conclusions
These findings indicate that hypoconnectivity between anterior and posterior cortical regions during inhibitory control represents a candidate vulnerability marker for OCD. Such vulnerability markers, if found to generalize, may be valuable to shed light on etiological processes contributing not only to OCD but also obsessive-compulsive–related disorders more widely.
Compulsivity, Disinhibition, Inhibition, OCD, Phenotype, Phenotyping
2451-9022
222-230
Hampshire, Adam
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Zadel, Ana
ad01b211-2cf0-43df-9798-8c4e47d38c1a
Sandrone, Stefano
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Soreq, Eyal
a9119132-c279-47b2-9ba2-fc7989f693d9
Fineberg, Naomi
157dcac1-9fb2-4197-81f3-0167e1224f05
Bullmore, Edward T.
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Robbins, Trevor W.
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Sahakian, Barbara J.
e689cd5c-b84f-4503-86ca-7526cf340121
Chamberlain, Samuel R.
8a0e09e6-f51f-4039-9287-88debe8d8b6f
Hampshire, Adam
08af1acb-f59f-4f42-a1ca-99fd2fb66da2
Zadel, Ana
ad01b211-2cf0-43df-9798-8c4e47d38c1a
Sandrone, Stefano
6fb01b9a-8d90-4336-9f1a-24676e46df22
Soreq, Eyal
a9119132-c279-47b2-9ba2-fc7989f693d9
Fineberg, Naomi
157dcac1-9fb2-4197-81f3-0167e1224f05
Bullmore, Edward T.
f2fa4f13-15e7-4d71-a4ca-f66d291a31a8
Robbins, Trevor W.
20dd57dd-dbf3-4aaa-b7ba-bb4387ffcbc7
Sahakian, Barbara J.
e689cd5c-b84f-4503-86ca-7526cf340121
Chamberlain, Samuel R.
8a0e09e6-f51f-4039-9287-88debe8d8b6f

Hampshire, Adam, Zadel, Ana, Sandrone, Stefano, Soreq, Eyal, Fineberg, Naomi, Bullmore, Edward T., Robbins, Trevor W., Sahakian, Barbara J. and Chamberlain, Samuel R. (2020) Inhibition-related cortical hypoconnectivity as a candidate vulnerability marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 5 (2), 222-230. (doi:10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.09.010).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent neuropsychiatric condition, with biological models implicating disruption of cortically mediated inhibitory control pathways, ordinarily serving to regulate our environmental responses and habits. The aim of this study was to evaluate inhibition-related cortical dysconnectivity as a novel candidate vulnerability marker of OCD.

Methods
In total, 20 patients with OCD, 18 clinically asymptomatic first-degree relatives of patients with OCD, and 20 control participants took part in a neuroimaging study comprising a functional magnetic resonance imaging stop signal task. Brain activations during the contrasts of interest were cluster thresholded, and a three-dimensional watershed algorithm was used to decompose activation maps into discrete clusters. Functional connections between these key neural nodes were examined using a generalized psychophysiological interaction model.

Results
The three groups did not differ in terms of age, education level, gender, IQ, or behavioral task parameters. Patients with OCD exhibited hyperactivation of the bilateral occipital cortex during the task versus the other groups. Compared with control participants, patients with OCD and their relatives exhibited significantly reduced connectivity between neural nodes, including frontal cortical, middle occipital cortical, and cerebellar regions, during the stop signal task.

Conclusions
These findings indicate that hypoconnectivity between anterior and posterior cortical regions during inhibitory control represents a candidate vulnerability marker for OCD. Such vulnerability markers, if found to generalize, may be valuable to shed light on etiological processes contributing not only to OCD but also obsessive-compulsive–related disorders more widely.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 27 September 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 16 October 2019
Published date: 1 February 2020
Additional Information: Copyright © 2019 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Compulsivity, Disinhibition, Inhibition, OCD, Phenotype, Phenotyping

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 443370
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/443370
ISSN: 2451-9022
PURE UUID: 0059f0ca-a99e-4156-b249-176990b9ede3
ORCID for Samuel R. Chamberlain: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7014-8121

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Date deposited: 21 Aug 2020 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:03

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Contributors

Author: Adam Hampshire
Author: Ana Zadel
Author: Stefano Sandrone
Author: Eyal Soreq
Author: Naomi Fineberg
Author: Edward T. Bullmore
Author: Trevor W. Robbins
Author: Barbara J. Sahakian
Author: Samuel R. Chamberlain ORCID iD

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