Comparison of neural substrates of temporal discounting between youth with autism spectrum disorder and with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Issue 14 (24th April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Carlisi, C. O.; Norman, L.; Murphy, C. M.; Christakou, A.; Chantiluke, K.; Giampietro, V.; Simmons, A.; Brammer, M.; Murphy, D. G.; Mataix-Cols, D.; Rubia, K.
• Is Part Of: Psychological medicine. Volume 47:Issue 14(2017)
• Page Start: 2513
• Page End: 2527
• Publication Date: 2017-04-24
• Subjects: ASD, -- fMRI, -- OCD, -- temporal discounting; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Medicine and psychology -- Periodicals; Clinical psychology -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291717001088
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0033-2917

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) share abnormalities in hot executive functions such as reward-based decision-making, as measured in the temporal discounting task (TD). No studies, however, have directly compared these disorders to investigate common/distinct neural profiles underlying such abnormalities. We wanted to test whether reward-based decision-making is a shared transdiagnostic feature of both disorders with similar neurofunctional substrates or whether it is a shared phenotype with disorder-differential neurofunctional underpinnings. Methods: Age and IQ-matched boys with ASD ( N = 20), with OCD ( N = 20) and 20 healthy controls, performed an individually-adjusted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) TD task. Brain activation and performance were compared between groups. Results: Boys with ASD showed greater choice-impulsivity than OCD and control boys. Whole-brain between-group comparison revealed shared reductions in ASD and OCD relative to control boys for delayed-immediate choices in right ventromedial/lateral orbitofrontal cortex extending into medial/inferior prefrontal cortex, and in cerebellum, posterior cingulate and precuneus. For immediate-delayed choices, patients relative to controls showed reduced activation in anterior cingulate/ventromedial prefrontal cortex reaching into left caudate, which, at a trend level, was more decreased in ASD than OCD patients, and in bilateral temporal and inferior parietal regions. Conclusions: This first fMRI comparison between youth with ASD and with OCD, using a reward-based decision-making task, shows predominantly shared neurofunctional abnormalities during TD in key ventromedial, orbital- and inferior fronto-striatal, temporo-parietal and cerebellar regions of temporal foresight and reward processing, suggesting trans-diagnostic neurofunctional deficits.