Altered spontaneous brain activity in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

• Published in: Comprehensive psychiatry Vol. 96; p. 152144
• Main Authors: Lei, Hui, Huang, Li, Li, Jingxuan, Liu, Wanting, Fan, Jie, Zhang, Xiaocui, Xia, Jie, Zhao, Ke, Zhu, Xiongzhao, Rao, Hengyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.01.2020; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation; Brain; Data processing; Fourier transforms; Health care; Neurobiology; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder; Personality disorders; Population; Resting-state functional MRI; Spontaneous neuronal activity; Resting-state functional MRI; Spontaneous neuronal activity; Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation; Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
• ISSN: 0010-440X; 1532-8384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2019.152144

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is one of the most prevalent personality disorders in general population. However, neural mechanisms underlying OCPD remain elusive. The aim of this study is to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether OCPD patients will exhibit altered spontaneous brain activity as compared to healthy controls (HC). Resting-state fMRI data were acquired in 37 OCPD patients and 37 matched HC. Amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) were calculated and compared between the two groups. Correlation analysis was performed between regional ALFF values and OCPD severity scores. Significant group differences in regional ALFF were found in multiple brain regions. Compared to HCs, OCPD subjects had increased ALFF in bilateral caudate, left precuneus, left insula, and left medial superior frontal gyrus, and decreased ALFF in the right fusiform gyrus and left lingual gyrus. The ALFF values in the left precuneus correlated with OCPD severity scores. We excluded patients with comorbidity and did not conduct cognitive function assessments. Our findings are also limited to cross-sectional analysis. OCPD patients exhibit altered spontaneous neural activity as compared to healthy controls in multiple brain regions, which may reflect different characteristic symptoms of OCPD pathophysiology, including cognitive inflexibility, excessive self-control, lower empathy, and visual attention bias. •Altered spontaneous neuronal activity was found in OCPD.•OCPD subjects had increased ALFF in caudate, precuneus, insula, and SFGmed.•OCPD subjects had decreased ALFF in FFG and LING.