Depression and anxiety
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Depression and anxiety · Sep 2012
Deficient inhibition of return in subclinical OCD only when attention is directed to the threatening aspects of a stimulus.
Inhibition of return (IOR) is thought to reflect inhibition of previously attended but irrelevant stimuli. Deficient IOR would increase the likelihood of revisiting previously searched locations or objects, thus leading to unproductive perseverations. ⋯ We conclude that IOR mechanisms might not be generally deficient in high checkers; rather only when attention is drawn to the threatening aspects of ecologically valid stimuli, then disengagement of attention is deficient in high checkers. We make suggestions on how our task-specific findings may inform cognitive interventions that target attentional control in the treatment of checking/obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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Depression and anxiety · Sep 2012
White matter abnormalities in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
There is paucity of data on white matter (WM) abnormalities in juvenile obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study aimed to identify WM microstructure changes in juvenile OCD. ⋯ Our findings suggest involvement of multiple WM tracts in juvenile OCD. In addition to the widely proposed hypothesis of orbitofrontal-striato-thalamo-cortical circuitry deficits in the development of OCD, our findings suggest involvement of additional brain regions, possibly parietal cortex, lateral prefrontal cortex, and limbic system. The widespread differences in WM among cases and controls also points to the possibility of underlying myelination changes.