title: Spontaneous magnetoencephalographic activity in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: Non-invasive functional imaging techniques have begun to delineate the underlying neurophysiological basis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In the present study, we investigated slow (2-6 Hz) and fast (12.5-30 Hz) spontaneous magnetoencephalographic (MEG) activity in ten patients with obsessive-compulsive disorders compared to ten healthy control subjects. Fast MEG activity was significantly elevated in OCD patients. The corresponding dipole density maxima were concentrated on the left superior temporal gyrus. Although no differences were detected in the absolute dipole numbers between controls and OCD patients regarding slow MEG activity, only the latter showed a clustering of slow MEG activity over their left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We conclude that alterations of spontaneous MEG activity in prefrontal and temporal cortices may be linked to the pathogenesis of OCD. Therefore, we provide further functional neuroimaging evidence that the complex features of OCD have neural correlates, which may help in a future understanding of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. christian.maihoefner@neuro.imed.uni-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maihöfner
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sperling
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaltenhäuser
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bleich
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Zwaan
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiltfang
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thürauf
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elstner
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Reulbach
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lewczuk
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kornhuber
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ropohl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors