Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T21:03:43.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The neuropsychological profile of a subclinical obsessive-compulsive sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2009

MYUNG-SUN KIM ,
KYOUNG-MI JANG  and
BIT-NA KIM
MYUNG-SUN KIM*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, Korea Institute of Basic Science, Brain-Cognition Lab, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
KYOUNG-MI JANG
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
BIT-NA KIM
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, Korea
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Myung-Sun Kim, Ph.D, Sungshin Women’s University, Department of Psychology, Dongsun 3ga, Sungbuk, Seoul, Korea. E-mail: kimms@sungshin.ac.kr.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We investigated the neuropsychological profile of subjects in a subclinical obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) sample. Psychometrically defined subclinical obsessive-compulsive (n = 21) and control (n = 22) subjects were examined. Comprehensive neuropsychological tests evaluating verbal/nonverbal memory, attention, and executive function were administered. The subclinical obsessive-compulsive group showed poorer performances on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), F(1, 41) = 13.80, p < .001, and Trail-Making Test (TMT), F(1, 41) = 5.48, p < .05, compared with the control group. The subclinical obsessive-compulsive group showed higher rates of total errors, perseverative errors, and perseverative responses. In addition, the subclinical obsessive-compulsive group committed a greater number of errors in the TMT. However, the groups showed no performance differences in the TMT after controlling for the effects of depression and anxiety, F(1, 39) = 0.11, p = .739. These results suggest that subclinical obsessive-compulsives seemed to display deficits in executive functioning. This neuropsychological profile is consistent with current theories proposing that executive dysfunction may serve as the pathophysiological mechanism underlying the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder. (JINS, 2009, 15, 286–290.)

Keywords

Executive dysfunctionNeuropsychological testsPerseverative responsesSubclinical obsessive-compulsiveTrail-Making TestWisconsin Card Sorting Test
Type
Brief Communications
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , March 2009 , pp. 286 - 290
Copyright
Copyright © INS 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Beck, A., Ward, C., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Frbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, A. & Steer, R. (1990). Manual for the Beck Anxiety Inventory. San Antonio, TX Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Brickenkamp, R. & Zillmer, E. (1998). The d2 test of attention. Kirkland, WA: Hogrefe & Huber.Google Scholar
Burns, G.L., Formea, G.A., Keortge, S., & Sternberger, L.G. (1995). The utilization of nonpatient samples in the study of obsessive compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 133–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Busatto, G.F., Buchpiguel, C.A., Zamignani, D.R., Garrido, G.E.J., Glabus, M.F., Mcguire, P.K., & Miguel, E.C. (2001). Regional cerebral blood flow abnormalities in early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder: An exploratory SPECT study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 347–354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cuttler, C. & Graf, P. (2007). Sub-clinical compulsive checkers’ prospective memory is impaired. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 338–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frist, M.B., Spitzer, R.L., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J.B.W. (1996). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis- I disorder. New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute.Google Scholar
Goodwin, A.H. & Sher, K.J. (1992). Deficits in set-shifting ability in nonclinical compulsive checkers. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavior Assessment, 14, 81–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greisberg, S. & McKay, D. (2003). Neuropsychology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and treatment implications. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 95–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodgson, R.J. & Rachman, S. (1977). Obsessional-compulsive complaints. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 15, 389–395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mataix-Cols, D. (2003). Declarative and procedural learning in individuals with subclinical obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 25, 830–841.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mataix-Cols, D., Junque, C., Sanchez-Turet, M., Vallejo, J., Verger, K., & Barrios, M. (1999). Neuropsychological functioning in a subclinical obsessive-compulsive sample. Biological Psychiatry, 45, 898–904.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Min, B.B. & Won, H.T. (1999). Reliability and validity of the Korean translations of Maudsley obsessional-compulsive inventory and Padua inventory. Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 18, 163–182.Google Scholar
Muller, J. & Roberts, J.E. (2005). Memory and attention in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a review. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 19, 1–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olley, A., Malhi, G., & Sachdev, P. (2007). Memory and executive functioning in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A selective review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 104, 15–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rauch, S.L. (2000). Neuroimaging research and the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: Where do we go from here? Biological Psychiatry, 47, 168–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roh, K.S., Shin, M.S., Kim, M.S., Ha, T.H., Shin, Y.W., Lee, K.J., & Kwon, J.S. (2005). Persistent cognitive dysfunction in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A naturalistic study. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 59, 539–545.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roth, R.M. & Baribeau, J. (1996). Performances of subclinical compulsive checkers on putative tests of frontal and temporal lobe memory function. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 184, 411–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanavio, E. (1988). Obsession and compulsions: The Padua inventory. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 26, 169–177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Savage, C.R., Baer, L., Keuthen, N.J., Brown, H.D., Rauch, S.L., & Jenike, M.A. (1999). Organizational strategies mediate nonverbal memory impairment in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 45, 905–916.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sher, K.J., Frost, R.O., & Otto, R. (1983). Cognitive deficits in compulsive checkers: An exploratory study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21, 357–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yum, T.H., Park, Y.S., Oh, K.J., Kim, J.G., & Lee, H.Y. (1992). The manual of Korean-Wechsler adult intelligence scale. Seoul: Korean Guidance Press.Google Scholar