title: Sustained attention in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a controlled study.
abstract: Studies on attentional processes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been inconsistent. The present study focused on the question of sustained attention in OCD, using the 'Degraded Stimulus Continuous Performance Test' (DS-CPT) sensitivity index over time. This study included 20 OCD patients and 25 control subjects, comparable in sex, age and educational level. All subjects had a neuropsychiatric structured diagnostic interview, as well as a psychometric battery. The DS-CPT evaluated sustained attention. The sensitivity decrement during DS-CPT was significant in both controls and OCD subjects. Contrary to our expectations, OCD patients did not show a greater decrease in sensitivity over time, compared to controls: thus, OCD patients presented a no more important attention decrease than controls. Controls and OCD subjects became more conservative in their response criteria throughout the DS-CPT test. Comparing OCD with and without pharmacological treatment did not reveal any difference in CPT outcome. Moreover, we observed, in OCD, a positive significant correlation between the Y-BOCS compulsion score and the CPT sensitivity index. A significant negative correlation of the Y-BOCS compulsive score with the CPT false alarm score was also found. In conclusion, OCD patients did not present any disturbance in sustained attention during a task requiring an increased processing load.
authors.affiliation: Anxiety Disorder Unit, Hôpital Neurologique 59, Boulevard Pinel, 69394 Lyon Cedex 03, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milliery
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouvard
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aupetit
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cottraux
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019336:Cognitive Science; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological; D014796:Visual Perception