Chronic medication does not affect hyperactive error responses in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) show an increased error-related negativity (ERN), yet previous studies have not controlled for medication use, which may be important given evidence linking performance monitoring to neurotransmitter systems targeted by treatment, such as serotonin. In an examination of 19 unmedicated OCD patients, 19 medicated OCD patients, 19 medicated patient controls without OCD, and 21 unmedicated healthy controls, we found greater ERNs in OCD patients than in controls, irrespective of medication use. Severity of generalized anxiety and depression was associated with ERN amplitude in controls but not patients. These data confirm previous findings of an exaggerated error response in OCD, further showing that it cannot be attributed to medication. The absence in patients of a relationship between ERN amplitude and anxiety/depression, as was found in controls, suggests that elevated error signals in OCD may be disorder-specific.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106, USA. emistern@med.umich.edu
Emily R
ER
Stern
Yanni
Y
Liu
William J
WJ
Gehring
James J
JJ
Lister
Gang
G
Yin
Jun
J
Zhang
Kate D
KD
Fitzgerald
Joseph A
JA
Himle
James L
JL
Abelson
Stephan F
SF
Taylor
D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors