Are “not just-right experiences” trait and/or state marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Background and objectives. “Not Just Right Experiences” (NJREs) are common phenomena in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), involving a feeling that something is ‘not right’ or as it should be. Some evidence suggests that NJREs may be an endophenotypic marker. This study aimed to investigate whether NJREs are a trait marker present in unaffected first-degree relatives of OCD and/or a state marker associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Methods. The study included 51 OCD patients, 47 first-degree relatives and 45 healthy controls. Not Just Right Experiences Questionnaire Revised (NJRE-QR), Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), and Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) were administered to the participants. Results. There was no significant difference between the first-degree relatives and healthy controls in respect of NJRE-total and NJRE-severity scores. In the hierarchical regression analysis performed in OCD group, the severity of NJREs were associated with the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and the 'doubts about actions' dimension of perfectionism. Conclusions. This is the first study investigating NJREs in relatives of a clinical OCD group. The results of this study support the view that NJREs are state markers for OCD.

Pineal gland volumes are changed in patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: In the present study, taking into consideration our previous studies showing an association on the neuroanatomy of OCD and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders (OCPD), we also decided to examine pineal gland volumes in patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and hypothesized that gland volumes would be found as altered in comparison with those of healthy subjects. METHODS: Sixteen patients with OCPD and eighteen healthy control subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We compared the volumes of pineal gland by using MRI between groups. RESULTS: As compared to healthy control subjects, patients with OCPD had statistically significant smaller pineal gland volumes by using independent sample t test (87.34 ±â€¯19.72 mm3 for patients with OCPD vs. 108.62 ±â€¯22.56 mm3, with a statistically significantly difference of p < 0.01.When controlling for gender distribution, age and whole brain volumes in the General Linear Model, we saw that patients with OCPD had still statistically significant smaller pineal volumes compared to those of healthy control subjects. CONCLUSION: Finally, the findings of the present study revealed that patients with OCPD had reduced pineal gland volumes compared to those of healthy control subjects, supporting the fact that OCPD might be included in the OCD spectrum disorders, since we have previously found same result in patients with OCPD.

Volumetric MRI study of orbito-frontal cortex and thalamus in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

OBJECTIVES: Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is currently thought to bear a close relationship with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and other compulsive disorders such as eating disorder and autistic spectrum disorder, as well as with the personality disorders, focusing on some important dimensions like phenomenology, heritability, environmental risk factors, comorbidity, course of illness, neurocognitive endophenotypes, and treatment response. In the present study, when we have taken into consideration the knowledge aforementioned, we aimed to examine OFC and thalamus volumes in patients with OCPD. METHODS: We comparatively measured orbito-frontal cortex (OFC) and thalamus volumes of patients with OCPD and healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Patients with OCPD had considerably smaller left and right OFC volumes compared to those of healthy control subjects. We also found that thalamus volumes of patients were statistically significantly greater than those of healthy comparisons for both sides of region of interest. CONCLUSIONS: We consider that volumetric alterations determined in the present study may be involved in the pathophysiology of the OCPD, considering that OCPD might be related to OCD spectrum disorders neuroanatomically.

Hippocampus and amygdalar volumes in patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

OBJECTIVES: Moving from the point that there might be an association between the neuroanatomy of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, we decided to examine the volumes of hippocampus and amygdala of patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, which was previously evaluated in OCD patients by us. METHODS: Volumes of the hippocampus, and amygdala were measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and healthy control subjects. Manual tracing was used. RESULTS: We detected that the mean left and right sides of hippocampus and amygdala volumes of the patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder were smaller than those of the healthy controls. CONCLUSION: Consequently, our present results suggest that hippocampal and amygdalar structural abnormalities may be related to the neuroanatomy of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. However, it is required novel studies with larger sample.

Abnormal structure of frontostriatal brain systems is associated with aspects of impulsivity and compulsivity in cocaine dependence.

A growing body of preclinical evidence indicates that addiction to cocaine is associated with neuroadaptive changes in frontostriatal brain systems. Human studies in cocaine-dependent individuals have shown alterations in brain structure, but it is less clear how these changes may be related to the clinical phenotype of cocaine dependence characterized by impulsive behaviours and compulsive drug-taking. Here we compared self-report, behavioural and structural magnetic resonance imaging data on a relatively large sample of cocaine-dependent individuals (n = 60) with data on healthy volunteers (n = 60); and we investigated the relationships between grey matter volume variation, duration of cocaine use, and measures of impulsivity and compulsivity in the cocaine-dependent group. Cocaine dependence was associated with an extensive system of abnormally decreased grey matter volume in orbitofrontal, cingulate, insular, temporoparietal and cerebellar cortex, and with a more localized increase in grey matter volume in the basal ganglia. Greater duration of cocaine dependence was correlated with greater grey matter volume reduction in orbitofrontal, cingulate and insular cortex. Greater impairment of attentional control was associated with reduced volume in insular cortex and increased volume of caudate nucleus. Greater compulsivity of drug use was associated with reduced volume in orbitofrontal cortex. Cocaine-dependent individuals had abnormal structure of corticostriatal systems, and variability in the extent of anatomical changes in orbitofrontal, insular and striatal structures was related to individual differences in duration of dependence, inattention and compulsivity of cocaine consumption.

A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of a large clinical cohort of children with Tourette syndrome.

There is evidence that cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical pathways are involved in the pathophysiology of Tourette syndrome. During the performance of neuropsychological tests in subjects with Tourette syndrome there are suggestions for increased activity in the sensimotor cortex, supplementary motor areas, and frontal cortex. To replicate findings, the authors examined 22 medication-naive children with Tourette syndrome only, 17 medication-naive children with Tourette syndrome and comorbidity, and 39 healthy controls with functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). There were no differences in activation in brain regions between the children with Tourette syndrome (divided according to the presence of comorbidity) and healthy controls after correction for the confounders age, sex, and intelligence. Activation in the cingulated gyrus, temporal gyrus, and medial frontal gyrus was correlated significantly with obsessive-compulsive disorder score. The authors did not find significant correlations between activation patterns and age, sex, duration of disease, intelligence, severity of tics, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) score.

El trastorno de personalidad anancástica y su psicopatología / The anancastic personality disorder and its psychopathology

Objetivo: Nuestro interés se ha centrado en el estudio de la personalidad anancástica con la finalidad de captarla y comprenderla globalmente. Material y Método: El material ha consistido en las verbalizaciones expresadas espontáneamente por una paciente con este tipo de patología. En un primer momento hacemos una comparación de las descripciones que la CIE-10 y el DSM-IV hacen de este tipo de personalidades. Posteriormente, realizamos un estudio de la jerarquización de los rasgos señalados como propios de este tipo de personalidad. En tercer lugar, hacemos un análisis de diversas categorías existenciales con la metodología fenomenológica-antropológica para captar y comprender mejor el mundo de estas personas. Y por último y en cuarto lugar, exponemos los diversos mecanismos que nos pueden hacer más inteligibles la aparición de los diversos síndromes psicopatológicos más frecuentes que pueden presentar estas personalidades. Resultados: La comparación de las descripciones que dan la CIE-10 y el DSM-IV muestran que en absoluto son coincidentes y que tanto las diferencias como las coincidencias atañen a la mitad de los rasgos dados por cada una de las nosologías. El estudio tipológico jerárquico de los síntomas muestra que el rasgo clave de estas personalidades es la inseguridad por lo cual buscan el orden y a partir de aquí pueden entenderse el conjunto de los otros rasgos. Con el estudio fenomenológico, a través de las categorías existenciales, se llega a la conclusión que el modo-de-estar-en-el-mundo de estas personalidades es el de permanecer en la Ordenalidad y siendo su Existencia un existir dudando o estar en el mero dudar. Por último, mostramos que las patologías más frecuentes que pueden sufrir estas personalidades son el síndrome ansioso, episodios de agresividad y angustia, sintomatología fóbica y síndrome depresivo. Conclusiones: El estudio tipológico y fenomenológico son métodos eficaces para entender y comprender a estas personalidades de manera global (AU)