“…In parallel, the results of neuroimaging studies in OCD patients have implicated dysfunction of the OFC and of the striatum in the pathophysiology of OCD (for review see Saxena et al, 1998;Stein, 2000). The metabolic activity of these two regions was found to be higher in OCD patients compared to healthy controls, to increase during symptom provocation, and to decrease after a successful treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs; Baxter et al, 1992;Benkelfat et al, 1990;Breiter et al, 1996;Cottraux et al, 1996;Insel, 1992;McGuire et al, 1994;Rauch et al, 1994;Saxena et al, 1999;Swedo et al, 1992). Although the serotonergic system, the OFC, and the striatum are interconnected, the specific abnormality of these regions, as well as the ways in which they interact to produce obsessions and compulsions, is unknown.…”