Rapoport J, Elkins R, Langer D H, Sceery W, Buchsbaum M S, Gillin J C, Murphy D L, Zahn T P, Lake R, Ludlow C, Mendelson W
Am J Psychiatry. 1981 Dec;138(12):1545-54. doi: 10.1176/ajp.138.12.1545.
The authors collected clinical diagnostic, neurophysiological, electrophysiological, and biochemical data on 9 adolescents who had primary obsessive-compulsive disorder. The results indicate considerable descriptive validity of the syndrome in childhood and its independence from obsessional traits; however, all of the children had a history of major depressive disorder, and their sleep EEG measures resembled those of young adults with primary depressive disorder. The patients' families did not have a more consistent pattern of anxiety disorder or any other psychiatric disorder than do families of adult obsessive patients. Psycholinguistic test results showed a lack of normal laterality, which has been reported for other psychiatric illness.
