Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 146, Issue 2 , Pages 137-147, 31 March 2006

A magnetic resonance spectroscopy investigation of obsessive–compulsive disorder and anxiety

  • Stephen P. Whiteside

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, West 11, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905, United States
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +1 507 284 5849; fax: +1 507 284 4158.
    • ,
  • John D. Port

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
    • ,
  • Brett J. Deacon

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States
    • ,
  • Jonathan S. Abramowitz

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, West 11, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905, United States

Received 18 August 2005; received in revised form 6 December 2005; accepted 14 December 2005.

Abstract 

The aim of the current study was to use proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to investigate potential irregularities in neurochemical compounds in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and the extent to which these irregularities are related to state anxiety. Single voxel MRS was used to image the head of the caudate nucleus (HOC) and orbitofrontal white matter (OFWM) bilaterally in adult patients with OCD and a control group. The results indicated that patients with OCD had increased levels of a combined measure of glutamate and glutamine (Glx/Cr) and N-acetyl-l-aspartic acid (NAA/Cr) relative to creatine in the right OFWM and reduced levels of myo-inositol relative to creatine (mI/Cr) in the HOC bilaterally. Correlational analyses indicated that Glx/Cr in the OFWM was related to OCD symptoms, while mI/Cr in the HOC was related to trait and/or state anxiety. Reanalysis of the significant group differences controlling for state anxiety symptoms erased three of the four group differences. These results are discussed in context of the methodological difficulties facing this area of research.

Keywords: Obsessive–compulsive disorder, Anxiety, Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Neuroimaging, Caudate, Orbitofrontal white matter

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PII: S0925-4927(05)00212-X

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.12.006

Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 146, Issue 2 , Pages 137-147, 31 March 2006

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