A diffusion tensor imaging study of white matter in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Our objective was to test for differences between subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy controls with respect to white matter architecture within the cingulum bundle (CB) and anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC). We studied eight subjects with active OCD and 10 matched healthy controls using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) at 1.5 T (Tesla).

Hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder: results from the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study.

Hoarding behavior occurs frequently in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Results from previous studies suggest that individuals with OCD who have hoarding symptoms are clinically different than non-hoarders and may represent a distinct clinical group. In the present study, we compared 235 hoarding to 389 non-hoarding participants, all of whom had OCD, collected in the course of the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study.

Subtle neurologic compromise as a vulnerability factor for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder: results of a twin study.

Context: Previous studies have demonstrated subtle neurologic dysfunction in chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) manifest as increased neurologic soft signs (NSSs). The origin of this dysfunction is undetermined.

Objective: To resolve competing origins of increased NSSs in PTSD, namely, preexisting vulnerability factor vs acquired PTSD sign.

The OCD collaborative genetics study: methods and sample description.

Results from twin and family studies suggest that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be transmitted in families but, to date, genes for the disorder have not been identified. The OCD Collaborative Genetics Study (OCGS) is a six-site collaborative genetic linkage study of OCD. Specimens and blinded clinical data will be made available through the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) cell repository.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging study of regional brain activation during implicit sequence learning in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Corticostriatal circuitry has been implicated in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The serial reaction time (SRT) task, a paradigm that tests implicit sequence learning, has been used with imaging to probe striatal function. Initial studies have indicated that OCD patients exhibit deficient striatal activation and aberrant hippocampal recruitment compared with healthy control (HC) subjects.

A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex responses to overtly presented fearful faces in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Background: Previous functional neuroimaging studies have demonstrated exaggerated amygdala responses and diminished medial prefrontal cortex responses during the symptomatic state in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Objectives: To determine whether these abnormalities also occur in response to overtly presented affective stimuli unrelated to trauma; to examine the functional relationship between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex and their relationship to PTSD symptom severity in response to these stimuli; and to determine whether responsivity of these regions habituates normally across repeated stimulus presentations in PTSD.

Design: Case-control study.

Amygdala responses to human faces in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: To assess the amygdala response to emotional faces in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Methods: Ten subjects with current OCD and 10 healthy control subjects underwent fMRI, during which they viewed pictures of fearful, happy, and neutral human faces, as well as a fixation cross.

Results: Across both groups, there was significant activation in left and right amygdala for the fearful versus neutral faces contrast.

Neural circuitry of anxiety: evidence from structural and functional neuroimaging studies.

Present understanding of the neural circuitry of anxiety has come from a variety of sources, including animal, clinical, and most recently, neuroimaging studies. Evidence from these sources has converged to form a translational bridge from animal models to human pathophysiology. In particular, the classical fear conditioning paradigm has served as a foundation for this bridge.

Regional cerebral blood flow in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex during traumatic imagery in male and female Vietnam veterans with PTSD.

Context: Theoretical neuroanatomic models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the results of previous neuroimaging studies of PTSD highlight the potential importance of the amygdala and medial prefrontal regions in this disorder. However, the functional relationship between these brain regions in PTSD has not been directly examined.

Objective: To examine the relationship between the amygdala and medial prefrontal regions during symptom provocation in male combat veterans (MCVs) and female nurse veterans (FNVs) with PTSD.

The significance of the concept of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder to the treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain.

The concept of an obsessive-compulsive spectrum of disorders has become useful. This article reviews what has been learned about these conditions (especially in the last few years), and how this information may be helpful to clinicians and researchers who work with patients with chronic nonmalignant pain.