Discrepant target detection and action monitoring in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been related to altered mechanisms of action monitoring and target detection, and it has been hypothesized that hyperactive striatal-cortical circuits constitute the underlying pathophysiology. This study used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to explore this hypothesis. A choice reaction time experiment was carried out in a group of OCD patients and a normal comparison group. The P3b component of the ERP to targets was taken as an indicator of the target-evaluation process and the response-locked error-related negativity (ERN) served as an indicator of action monitoring. We hypothesized that the OCD group would show a shortened P3b latency and an amplitude-enhanced ERN. Consistent with our expectations, the P3b latency was shorter and the ERN amplitude was higher in the OCD group. Unexpectedly, we also observed a prolonged ERN latency in the OCD group and a more posterior topography of this component. The data provide partial support for the hypothesis of a hyperactive neural network in OCD. In addition the disorder must involve pathophysiological processes that are presumably related to other aspects of its complex and heterogeneous clinical hallmarks.
Johannes
S
S
Department of Neuropsychology, Otto-von-Guericke Universität, Magdeburg, Germany. johannes.soenke@mh-hannover.de
Wieringa
B M
BM
Nager
W
W
Rada
D
D
Dengler
R
R
Emrich
H M
HM
Münte
T F
TF
Dietrich
D E
DE
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000503:physiopathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology