Resting-State Functional Connectivity Alterations in Drug-Naive Adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE

It is known that there are alterations in functional brain networks in pediatric obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD) and new studies are needed to identify and conceptualize these alterations. This study aimed to investigate resting-state functional connectivity (Rs-FC) changes in adolescents with OCD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We compared FC alterations in 15 drug-naive adolescents with OCD and 15 healthy controls (HC). Rs-FC networks were obtained with independent component analysis and logistic regression was used to identify the components that displayed significant group differentiation.

RESULTS

Data were decomposed into 30 independent components, and 4 components corresponding to functional networks showed a significant difference between the 2 groups (sensitivity and specificity value was 86.7%): Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), cerebellum, right frontoparietal network (R-FPN), and anterior DMN (aDMN). The expression scores of the PCC, cerebellum, and R-FPN were significantly lower in OCD, while the expression score of the aDMN was significantly higher in OCD as compared with HC. In addition, OCD patients demonstrated a significant anti-correlation between the R-FPN and lateral sensorimotor network, and a positive correlation between the PCC and parahippocampal gyri.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that alterations in FC networks incumbent on high mental processes are involved in the pathophysiology of OCD in adolescents.