Dysfunction between dorsal caudate and salience network associated with impaired cognitive flexibility in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A resting-state fMRI study

Hirofumi Tomiyama; Tomohiro Nakao; Keitaro Murayama; Kiyotaka Nemoto; Keisuke Ikari; Satoshi Yamada; Masumi Kuwano; Suguru Hasuzawa; Osamu Togao; Akio Hiwatashi; Shigenobu Kanba

doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102004

Dysfunction between dorsal caudate and salience network associated with impaired cognitive flexibility in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A resting-state fMRI study

Neuroimage Clin. 2019:24:102004. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102004. Epub 2019 Sep 16.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan.
² Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan. Electronic address: tomona@npsych.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba.
⁴ Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan.
⁵ Department of Molecular Imaging & Diagnosis, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Impaired cognitive flexibility has been implicated in the genetic basis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Recent endophenotype studies of OCD showed neural inefficiency in the cognitive control network and interference by the limbic network of the cognitive control network. Exploring the relationship between the functional brain network and impaired cognitive flexibility may provide novel information about the neurobiological basis of OCD.

Methods: We obtained resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) scans and measured the cognitive flexibility of 37 medication-free OCD patients and 40 healthy control (HC) participants using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). We explored the difference between OCD and HC groups in the functional brain network related to impaired cognitive flexibility from the amygdala and dorsal striatal regions of interest (ROIs) by using a seed-based approach.

Results: Significant differences between the OCD and HC groups were identified in the resting state functional network from the dorsal caudate. Increased functional connectivity from the dorsal caudate to the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI) was associated with poorer cognitive flexibility in the OCD group, but better cognitive flexibility in the HC group.

Conclusions: These results provide evidence that the impaired cognitive flexibility of OCD may be associated with dysfunctions of the brain network from the dorsal caudate (DC) to important nodes of the salience network. Our results extend the neuropsychological model of OCD by showing intrinsically different associations between OCD and HC in functional network and cognitive flexibility.

Keywords: Cognitive flexibility; Dorsal caudate; Functional connectivity; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Resting state functional MRI; Salience network.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Adult
Caudate Nucleus / diagnostic imaging
Caudate Nucleus / physiopathology*
Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging
Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology*
Cognitive Dysfunction / diagnostic imaging
Cognitive Dysfunction / etiology
Cognitive Dysfunction / physiopathology*
Connectome / methods*
Executive Function / physiology*
Female
Gyrus Cinguli / diagnostic imaging
Gyrus Cinguli / physiopathology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Nerve Net / diagnostic imaging
Nerve Net / physiopathology*
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / complications
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / diagnostic imaging
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / physiopathology*