Divergent subcortical activity for distinct executive functions: stopping and shifting in obsessive compulsive disorder.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There is evidence of executive function impairment in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) that potentially contributes to symptom development and maintenance. Nevertheless, the precise nature of these executive impairments and their neural basis remains to be defined.

Method

We compared stopping and shifting, two key executive functions previously implicated in OCD, in the same task using functional magnetic resonance imaging, in patients with virtually no co-morbidities and age-, verbal IQ- and gender-matched healthy volunteers. The combined task allowed direct comparison of neural activity in stopping and shifting independent of patient sample characteristics and state variables such as arousal, learning, or current symptom expression.

Results

Both OCD pa

SUBMITTER: Morein-Zamir S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4754830 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature