Cortical asymmetries in unaffected siblings of patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder. Issue 3 (30th December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peng, Ziwen; Li, Gang; Shi, Feng; Shi, Changzheng; Yang, Qiong; Chan, Raymond C.K.; Shen, Dinggang
• Is Part Of: Psychiatry research. Volume 234:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: 346
• Page End: 351
• Publication Date: 2015-12-30
• Subjects: Cortical thickness -- Obsessive–compulsive disorder -- Endophenotype -- Hemispheric asymmetry -- Siblings; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Brain -- Imaging -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Diagnostic Imaging -- Periodicals; Psychiatrie -- Périodiques; Cerveau -- Imagerie pour le diagnostic -- Périodiques; 616.890754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.10.005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0925-4927

Abstract

Abstract: Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is considered to be associated with atypical brain asymmetry. However, no study has examined the asymmetry in OCD from the perspective of cortical morphometry. This study is aimed to describe the characteristics of cortical asymmetry in OCD patients, and to investigate whether these features exist in their unaffected siblings – a vital step in identifying putative endophenotypes for OCD. A total of 48 subjects (16 OCD patients, 16 unaffected siblings, and 16 matched controls) were recruited who had complete magnetic resonance imaging scans. Left–right hemispheric asymmetries of cortical thickness were measured using a surface-based threshold-free cluster enhancement method. OCD patients and siblings both showed leftward asymmetries of cortical thickness in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which showed a significant positive correlation with compulsive subscale scores. In addition, siblings and healthy controls showed significantly decreased leftward asymmetries in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the decreased leftward bias in the OFC was accompanied by lower scales on the Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale. To sum up, leftward asymmetries of cortical thickness in the ACC may represent an endophenotype of increased hereditary risk for OCD, while decreased leftward asymmetries of cortical thickness in the OFC may represent a protective factor. Highlights: OCD patients and siblings exhibited leftward asymmetry in the ACC. Leftward asymmetries in the ACC may represent a candidate endophenotype for OCD. Siblings and healthy controls exhibited decreased leftward asymmetry in the OFC.