Regional cerebral blood flow and cognitive function in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Aim:To explore the relationship between regional cerebral blood perfusion and cognitive function in obsessive compulsive disorder(OCD) patients.Methods:Thirty-nine unmediated patients with OCD and thirty-nine controls were involved.All the subjects accepted cerebral blood perfusion imaging and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST).Results:Compared with the normal controls,the patients demonstrated significantly higher RAR in both the right and the left anterior frontal lobe,temporal cortex.Left prefrontal lobe RAR in patients and in controls was were(94.4±6.1) and(88.3±7.1)(t=6.78,P=0.001).Right prefrontal lobe RAR in patients and controls was(99.8±6.4) and(86.9±7.9)(t=11.93,P0.001).Left anterior temporal RAR in patients and controls was(91.6±6.1) and(84.0±7.2)(t=7.15,P=0.002).Right anterior temporal cortex RAR in patients and controls was(92.8±6.6) and(84.4±7.3)(t=9.40,P0.001).Right occipital lobe RAR in patients and controls was(102.3±7.7) and(96.4±10.2)(t=4.89,P0.05).In WCST,scores of correct numbers and classification numbers in patients [(33.24±5.39),(4.42±1.62)] were lower than those of the controls [(38.15±4.64),(5.72±0.94)];and scores of errors and persistent errors in patients [(13.21±6.89),(6.79±4.89)] were higher than those of the controls [(7.53±5.97),(2.06±1.29)](t=-3.657,-2.495,5.881,4.873,P0.05).The RAR in right prefrontal lobe was negatively correlated with the score of correct numbers(r=-0.783,P=0.014);the RAR in right anterior temporal cortex was positively correlated with the score of errors(r=0.384,P=0.047);the RAR in right prefrontal lobe and left thalamus were positively correlated with the score of persistent errors(r=0.511,P=0.041;r=0.610,P=0.049).Conclusion:Patients with OCD show higher cerebral blood perfusion mainly in prefrontal lobe and temporal cortex,which may play important roles in the occurrence of OCD.Right prefrontal lobe,temporal cortex and left thalamus may be involved in the process of cognition function.