title: Understanding obsessive-compulsive disorder: focus on decision making.
abstract: Current approaches to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have suggested that neurobiological abnormalities play a crucial role in the etiology and course of this psychiatric illness. In particular, a fronto-subcortical circuit, including the orbitofrontal cortex, basal ganglia and thalamus appears to be involved in the expression of OCD symptoms. Neuropsychological studies have also shown that patients with OCD show deficits in cognitive abilities that are strictly linked to the functioning of the frontal lobe and its related fronto-subcortical structures, such as executive functioning deficits and insufficient cognitive-behavioral flexibility. This article focuses on decision making, an executive ability that plays a crucial role in many real-life situations, whereby individuals choose between pursuing strategies of action that involve only immediate reward and others based on long-term reward. Although the role of decision-making deficits in the evolution of OCD requires further research, the collected findings have significant implications for understanding the clinical and behavioral heterogeneity that characterizes individuals with OCD.
authors.affiliation: San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, Universitá Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Faculty of Psychology, 20 Via Stamir D'Aneona, 20127 Milan, Italy. cavedini.paolo@hsr.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cavedini
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gorini
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellodi
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009446:Neurobiology; D009484:Neuropsychology; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology