title: Correlation between Morphologic Changes and Autism Spectrum Tendency in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most debilitating psychiatric disorders, with some speculating that a reason for difficulty in its treatment might be its coexistence with autism spectrum. We investigated the tendency for autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in patients with OCD from a neuroimaging point of view using voxel-based morphometry.
  
  
  METHODS
  We acquired T1-weighted images from 20 patients with OCD and 30 healthy controls and investigated the difference in regional volume between the groups as well as the correlation between Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores and regional cerebral volumes of patients with OCD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Volumes in the bilateral middle frontal gyri were significantly decreased in patients with OCD compared to controls. Correlational analysis showed significant positive correlations between AQ scores and regional gray matter (GM) volumes in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left amygdala. Furthermore, GM volumes of these regions were positively correlated with each other.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The positive correlation of ASD traits in patients with OCD with regional GM volumes in the left DLPFC and amygdala could reflect the heterogeneity of patient symptoms. Our results suggest that differences in GM volume might allow classification of patients with OCD for appropriate therapy based on their particular traits.
authors.affiliation: United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Kiyotaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nemoto
authors.forename: Chihiro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sutoh
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Haruko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyata
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Yoshitada
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakazato
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000473:pathology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult