title: Elevated thalamic and prefrontal regional cerebral blood flow in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a SPECT study.
abstract: Functional neuroimaging studies have pointed to a possible role of cerebral circuits involving the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices, the striatum, and thalamus in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of 16 drug-free Brazilian patients with OCD and 17 healthy subjects matched for age, gender, handedness and level of education was measured with [99m-Tc] HMPAO single photon emission computed tomography. Analysis of covariance identified four regions of interest with significantly higher rCBF: the right superior and inferior frontal cortex and the right and left thalamus. Positive correlations between symptom severity measured by Clinical Global Impression scores and rCBF were found in the right and left inferior frontal lobes and in the right basal ganglia. Compulsive behavior was inversely correlated with rCBF in the right thalamus, and duration of illness correlated positively with rCBF in the right and left superior frontal lobes and with the right thalamus. The findings of this SPECT study conducted in Brazil are in agreement with prior studies and provide additional support for the involvement of prefrontal-subcortical circuits in the pathophysiology of OCD. Furthermore, the study suggests that similar brain mechanisms appear to be involved cross-culturally.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. lacerda@mpc.com.br
authors.forename: Acioly L T
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lacerda
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dalgalarrondo
authors.forename: Dorgival
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caetano
authors.forename: Edwaldo E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.forename: Elba C S C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Etchebehere
authors.forename: Jair C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001938:Brazil; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D013788:Thalamus / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime