Relationship between symptom dimensions and white matter alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between the severities of symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and white matter alterations.


METHODS
We applied tract-based spatial statistics for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) acquired by 3T magnetic resonance imaging. First, we compared fractional anisotropy (FA) between 20 OCD patients and 30 healthy controls (HC). Then, applying whole brain analysis, we searched the brain regions showing correlations between the severities of symptom dimensions assessed by Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised and FA in all participants. Finally, we calculated the correlations between the six symptom dimensions and multiple DTI measures [FA, axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), mean diffusivity (MD)] in a region-of-interest (ROI) analysis and explored the differences between OCD patients and HC.


RESULTS
There were no between-group differences in FA or brain region correlations between the severities of symptom dimensions and FA in any of the participants. ROI analysis revealed negative correlations between checking severity and left inferior frontal gyrus white matter and left middle temporal gyrus white matter and a positive correlation between ordering severity and right precuneus in FA in OCD compared with HC. We also found negative correlations between ordering severity and right precuneus in RD, between obsessing severities and right supramarginal gyrus in AD and MD, and between hoarding severity and right insular gyrus in AD.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study supported the hypothesis that the severities of respective symptom dimensions are associated with different patterns of white matter alterations.
1Research Center for Child Mental Development,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Michiyo
M
Yagi
1Research Center for Child Mental Development,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Yoshiyuki
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3844-3061
Y
Hirano
1Research Center for Child Mental Development,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Michiko
M
Nakazato
4Department of Psychiatry,Division of Clinical Medicine,Faculty of Medicine,University of Tsukuba,Tsukuba,Japan.
Kiyotaka
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8623-9829
K
Nemoto
5Ibaraki Prefectural Medical Center of Psychiatry,Kasama,Japan.
Kazuhiro
K
Ishikawa
3Department of Molecular Imaging and Theranostics,National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology,Chiba,Japan.
Chihiro
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5191-8220
C
Sutoh
1Research Center for Child Mental Development,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Haruko
H
Miyata
7Department of Regional Disaster Medicine,Graduate School of Medicine,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Junko
J
Matsumoto
8Department of Radiology,Chiba University Hospital,Chiba,Japan.
Koji
K
Matsumoto
8Department of Radiology,Chiba University Hospital,Chiba,Japan.
Yoshitada
Y
Masuda
1Research Center for Child Mental Development,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Takayuki
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7678-5033
T
Obata
9Department of Psychiatry,Graduate School of Medicine,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Masaomi
M
Iyo
1Research Center for Child Mental Development,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Eiji
E
Shimizu
1Research Center for Child Mental Development,Chiba University,Chiba,Japan.
Akiko
A
Nakagawa
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
diffusion tensor imaging; fractional anisotropy; obsessive-compulsive disorder; obsessive-compulsive inventory-revised; symptom dimensions