title: Voxel-based morphometry study of gray matter abnormalities in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: To examine regional abnormalities in the brains of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we assessed the gray matter (GM) density using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). We compared magnetic resonance images (MRIs) acquired from 71 OCD patients and 71 age- and gender-matched normal controls and examined the relationship between GM density and various clinical variables in OCD patients. We also investigated whether GM density differs among the subtypes of OCD compared to healthy controls. We detected significant reduction of GM in the inferior frontal gyrus, the medial frontal gyrus, the insula, the cingulate gyrus, and the superior temporal gyrus of OCD patients. A significant increase in GM density was observed in the postcentral gyrus, the thalamus, and the putamen. Some of these regions, including the insular and postcentral gyrus, were also associated with the severity of obsessive- compulsive symptoms. These findings indicate that the frontal-subcortical circuitry is dysfunctional in OCD, and suggest that the parietal cortex may play a role in the pathophysiology of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: So Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Myoung-Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Roh
authors.forename: Jung-Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Do-Hyung
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Tae Hyun
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Jong-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: In Young
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sun I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jun Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D012727:Sex Characteristics