Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
J Affect Disord. 2025 Jan 15;369:1108-1114. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.10.109. Epub 2024 Oct 22.
Neuroimaging studies have reported extensive resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) abnormalities in the default mode network (DMN) in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but findings are inconsistent. DMN can be divided into three subsystems: core, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC), and medial temporal lobe (MTL). This study aimed to explore abnormalities in rsFC strength within and between DMN subsystems in OCD patients, and their relationship with clinical symptoms.
This study recruited 39 OCD patients and 45 healthy controls (HCs). OCD symptoms were assessed using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS). The seed-to-seed method was used to construct rsFC matrix. The rsFC strength within and between the three DMN subsystems were calculated.
Compared to the HC group, the OCD group exhibited reduced rsFC strength within core subsystem (F = 7.799, p = 0.007, Bonferroni corrected p = 0.042). Further, this reduction was also observed in the unmedicated OCD group (n = 19), but not in the medicated OCD group (n = 18). In addition, rsFC strength within core subsystem was negatively correlated with the obsession subscale of YBOCS in the OCD group (r = -0.512, p = 0.004, Bonferroni corrected p = 0.008). Further, this correlation was also significant in the unmedicated OCD group, but not in the medicated OCD group.
Our findings suggest that reduced rsFC strength within core subsystem is a feature of OCD patients and may serve as a potential biomarker of obsession severity. Moreover, pharmacological treatments may affect rsFC strength in DMN.
神经影像学研究报告称，强迫症（OCD）患者的默认模式网络（DMN）存在广泛的静息态功能连接（rsFC）异常，但研究结果并不一致。DMN 可分为三个子系统：核心子系统、背内侧前额叶皮质（dMPFC）和内侧颞叶（MTL）。本研究旨在探讨 OCD 患者 DMN 子系统内和子系统间 rsFC 强度的异常及其与临床症状的关系。
本研究纳入 39 名 OCD 患者和 45 名健康对照者（HCs）。采用耶鲁-布朗强迫量表（YBOCS）评估 OCD 症状。采用种子到种子的方法构建 rsFC 矩阵。计算 DMN 三个子系统内和子系统间 rsFC 强度。
与 HCs 组相比，OCD 组核心子系统内 rsFC 强度降低（F=7.799，p=0.007，Bonferroni 校正后 p=0.042）。此外，这种降低在未用药 OCD 组（n=19）中也观察到，但在用药 OCD 组（n=18）中未观察到。此外，OCD 组核心子系统内 rsFC 强度与 YBOCS 中的强迫观念分量表呈负相关（r=-0.512，p=0.004，Bonferroni 校正后 p=0.008）。此外，这种相关性在未用药 OCD 组中也很显著，但在用药 OCD 组中不显著。
我们的研究结果表明，核心子系统内 rsFC 强度降低是 OCD 患者的一个特征，可能是强迫严重程度的潜在生物标志物。此外，药物治疗可能会影响 DMN 中的 rsFC 强度。
