Pharmacological, experimental therapeutic, and transcranial magnetic stimulation treatments for compulsivity and impulsivity

CNS Spectr. 2014 Feb;19(1):50-61. doi: 10.1017/S1092852913000618. Epub 2013 Nov 1.

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been recently drawn apart from anxiety disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) and clustered together with related disorders (eg, hoarding, hair pulling disorder, skin picking), which with it seems to share clinical and neurophysiological similarities. Recent literature has mainly explored brain circuitries (eg, orbitofrontal cortex, striatum), molecular pathways, and genes (eg, Hoxb8, Slitrk5, Sapap3) that represent the new target of the treatments; they also lead the development of new probes and compounds. In the therapeutic field, monotherapy with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is recommendable, but combination or augmentation with a dopaminergic or glutamatergic agent is often adopted. A promising therapy for OCD is represented by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which is suitable to treat compulsivity and impulsivity depending on the protocol of stimulation and the brain circuitries targeted.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Comorbidity
  • Compulsive Behavior / drug therapy
  • Compulsive Behavior / genetics
  • Compulsive Behavior / therapy*
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Humans
  • Impulsive Behavior / drug therapy
  • Impulsive Behavior / genetics
  • Impulsive Behavior / therapy*
  • Nerve Net / drug effects
  • Nerve Net / physiopathology
  • Nerve Net / radiation effects
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / drug therapy
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / genetics
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / therapy
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation*
  • Treatment Outcome