title: Persistence of impulsivity in pediatric and adolescent patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Increasing clinical evidence points to impulsivity as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, little is known about its persistence over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, we evaluated the performance of 12 pediatric patients with OCD on the Stroop color-word task, which assesses impulsivity, and compared this with age- and sex-matched controls. In parallel, we measured changes in hemodynamic responses during the task, using near-infrared spectroscopy. As patients in the OCD group were naïve to treatment, we compared results before and after 3-year medication with serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report that, compared with controls, the OCD group had significantly poorer performance and less activation in the prefrontal cortex during the Stroop color-word task. Surprisingly, while serotonin-reuptake-inhibitors treatment reduced OCD symptomology, it did not improve the diminished hemodynamic responses or task performance of these patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that a persistent deficit exists in the inhibitory control of pediatric patients with OCD; they also provide insight into the pathophysiology of OCD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamuro
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Toyosaku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Junzo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Iida
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D057190:Stroop Test
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
keywords: 
  Stroop color-word task; impulsivity; near-infrared spectroscopy; obsessive-compulsive disorder; persistence