Clinical Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMed, Universitätsplatz 2/III, A-8010, Graz, Austria.
Cerebellum. 2019 Feb;18(1):91-98. doi: 10.1007/s12311-018-0957-y.
Previous research indicated that the cerebellum is involved in psychopathologies with body-focused repetitive behaviors. The present study investigated whether patients with a diagnosis of skin-picking disorder (SPD) also show altered cerebellar structure and function. Structural as well as functional MRI data from 30 SPD patients and 31 controls were analyzed. The fMRI approach compared cerebellar activity and connectivity between the two groups during scratching and caressing of a small skin area on the arm. Relative to controls, SPD patients were characterized by reduced gray matter volumes in the left cerebellar lobules V and VI. During picking (relative to caressing), SPD patients displayed increased activation of the left crus I, which showed enhanced coupling with the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). This study provides the first evidence that SPD patients display structural as well as functional abnormalities in specific subregions of the cerebellum related to motor (V) and affective-cognitive functions (VI, crus I). The SPD-related altered cerebellar connectivity with an area implicated in affect control (VLPFC) fits nicely to the model of pathological skin picking as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy.
先前的研究表明，小脑参与了以身体为中心的重复行为的精神病理学。本研究旨在探讨是否患有皮肤搔抓障碍（SPD）的患者也表现出小脑结构和功能的改变。对 30 名 SPD 患者和 31 名对照者的结构和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）数据进行了分析。该 fMRI 方法比较了两组患者在搔抓和抚摸手臂上一小块皮肤时小脑的活动和连接。与对照组相比，SPD 患者左侧小脑叶 V 和 VI 的灰质体积减少。在搔抓（相对于抚摸）期间，SPD 患者的左侧小脑脚 I 活动增加，与左侧腹外侧前额叶皮质（VLPFC）的耦合增强。这项研究首次提供了证据，表明 SPD 患者在与运动（V）和情感认知功能（VI、脚 I）相关的小脑特定亚区表现出结构和功能异常。与参与情感控制（VLPFC）的区域相关的 SPD 相关改变的小脑连接非常符合病理性皮肤搔抓作为一种适应不良的情绪调节策略的模型。
