Cognitive performance in children and adolescents at high-risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Cognitive performance has been studied in adults with obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and in adult relatives of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Meanwhile, few studies have been conducted with children under the same conditions. This study compared the neurocognitive domains previously associated with dysfunction in OCD, especially visuoconstructive ability, visuospatial memory, executive functions, and intelligence, in children and adolescents at high risk (HR) for OCD (n = 18) and non-OCD controls (NOC) (n = 31).

Methods: For the HR group, we considered the first-degree relatives of patients with OCD that present OCS, but do not meet diagnostic criteria for OCD.

Relationships between childhood maltreatment, impairment in executive functions and disruptive behavior disorders in a community sample of children.

Evidence points to an independent relationship among childhood maltreatment, impairments in executive functions (EF) and disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). However, it is still not fully understood how these three factors are interrelated. This study evaluated the association between childhood maltreatment and DBD testing the role of EF performance as a mediator or moderator.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in children with first degree relatives diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: A first-degree relative affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in childhood is an important risk factor for developing the disorder in adulthood. The relationship between a family history of OCD and the presence of OCS and its correlates in childhood is not well established.

Methods: A total of 66 children whose parents or siblings have been diagnosed with OCD were assessed for the presence of OCS and clinical correlates.

Reduced prefrontal activation in pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder during verbal episodic memory encoding.

Objective: Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often present with deficits in episodic memory, and there is evidence that these difficulties may be secondary to executive dysfunction, that is, impaired selection and/or application of memory-encoding strategies (mediation hypothesis). Semantic clustering is an effective strategy to enhance encoding of verbal episodic memory (VEM) when word lists are semantically related. Self-initiated mobilization of this strategy has been associated with increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, a key region in the pathophysiology of OCD.