Correlation between Morphologic Changes and Autism Spectrum Tendency in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Objectives: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most debilitating psychiatric disorders, with some speculating that a reason for difficulty in its treatment might be its coexistence with autism spectrum. We investigated the tendency for autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in patients with OCD from a neuroimaging point of view using voxel-based morphometry.Methods: We acquired T 1 -weighted images from 20 patients with OCD and 30 healthy controls and investigated the difference in regional volume between the groups as well as the correlation between Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores and regional cerebral volumes of patients with OCD.Results: Volumes in the bilateral middle frontal gyri were significantly decreased in patients with OCD compared to controls. Correlational analysis showed significant positive correlations between AQ scores and regional gray matter (GM) volumes in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left amygdala. Furthermore, GM volumes of these regions were positively correlated with each other.Conclusions: The positive correlation of ASD traits in patients with OCD with regional GM volumes in the left DLPFC and amygdala could reflect the heterogeneity of patient symptoms. Our results suggest that differences in GM volume might allow classification of patients with OCD for appropriate therapy based on their particular traits.

Common Gray Matter Reductions in Alcohol Use and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Meta-analysis

“…p < .05 Yes Kobayashi et al. , 2015 ( 40 ) DSM-IV 20 (10) 30 (15) 34.1/31.2 FDR corr. p < .05 Yes Kopřivová et al.…”

“…Many studies have reported regional alterations in GM volume related to OCD. For instance, in many studies, decreases in GM have been shown in prefrontal regions including the ACC, dorsolateral PFC, orbitofrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, and medial PFC ( 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ). However, other studies have found increased GM in those same prefrontal regions except the ACC ( 38 , 42 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ).…”

White Matter Features Associated With Autistic Traits in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

“…There were three outliers in DTI parameters. They were all male with the high AQ scores ( 35 ) and average age (mean; 33.0, range; 27–37), Y-BOCS (mean; 26.3, range: 26–27), and BDI (mean; 20.7, range 15–28). After deleting these three individuals, significant correlations were not shown.…”

“…This area is part of the cognitive control network, and the regional overlap with the revised CSTC circuitry mediating repetitive behaviors may be related to OCD symptoms ( 33 ). Kobayashi et al ( 35 ) reported correlations between the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) ( 34 ) scores and regional gray matter volumes in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and amygdala of OCD patients ( 35 ). Carlisi et al ( 36 ) reported that the rostrodorsomedial prefrontal cortex in both ASD and OCD showed lower function and structure by their meta-analysis of fMRI and structural MRI ( 36 ).…”

Mapping the neuroanatomical abnormalities in a phenotype of male compulsive rats

“…An increased volume of hippocampus have been found in OCD patients [ 33 , 104 ] and in internet GD patients, where the hippocampus volume correlated with symptom severity [ 129 ]. Moreover, the association between different subregions of amygdala and compulsive trait have been found in OCD [ 130 , 131 ], in a sub-clinical population [ 34 ], in subjects with compulsive sexual behavior [ 36 ] and in individuals with internet GD [ 129 ].…”