An Examination of Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex Function and Neurochemistry in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Affiliations

¹ 1] Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [2] Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Institute, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [3] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
² Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
³ Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
⁴ Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
⁵ 1] Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [2] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ 1] Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Institute, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [2] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ 1] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
⁸ 1] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [3] Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA.
⁹ 1] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
¹⁰ 1] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.

PMID: 25662837
PMCID: PMC4839510
DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.36

An Examination of Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex Function and Neurochemistry in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Brian P Brennan et al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 Jul.

. 2015 Jul;40(8):1866-76.

doi: 10.1038/npp.2015.36. Epub 2015 Feb 9.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ 1] Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [2] Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Institute, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [3] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
² Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
³ Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
⁴ Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
⁵ 1] Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [2] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ 1] Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Institute, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [2] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ 1] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
⁸ 1] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA [3] Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA.
⁹ 1] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
¹⁰ 1] Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.

PMID: 25662837
PMCID: PMC4839510
DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.36

Abstract

The anterior cingulate cortex is implicated in the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, few studies have examined functional and neurochemical abnormalities specifically in the rostral subdivision of the ACC (rACC) in OCD patients. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during an emotional counting Stroop task and single-voxel J-resolved proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in the rACC to examine the function and neurochemistry of the rACC in individuals with OCD and comparison individuals without OCD. Between-group differences in rACC activation and glutamine/glutamate ratio (Gln/Glu), Glu, and Gln levels, as well as associations between rACC activation, Gln/Glu, Glu, Gln, behavioral, and clinical measures were examined using linear regression. In a sample of 30 participants with OCD and 29 age- and sex-matched participants without OCD, participants with OCD displayed significantly reduced rACC deactivation compared with those without OCD in response to OCD-specific words versus neutral words on the emotional counting Stroop task. However, Gln/Glu, Glu, and Gln in the rACC did not differ between groups nor was there an association between reduced rACC deactivation and Gln/Glu, Glu, or Gln in the OCD group. Taken together, these findings strengthen the evidence for rACC dysfunction in OCD, but weigh against an underlying association with abnormal rACC glutamatergic neurotransmission.

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Figures

**Figure 1**
(a) Sagittal and axial brain slices showing placement of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) voxel in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). (b) Sample rACC MRS spectral extractions from the 2D J-resolved data set depicting the theoretically modeled LCModel fits for J=0.0 Hz and J=6.9 Hz, each shown with total LCModel fit, residual and major J-coupled subcomponents. Both extractions provide illustration of our quantitative method for on and off-axis spectra. As described in the Patients and Methods, all 64 J-resolved spectral extractions are quantified in this manner. Cho, choline; Cr, total creatine; GABA, γ-aminobutyric acid; Gln, glutamine; Glu, glutamate; GSH, glutathione; mI, *myo*-inositol; NAA, N-acetylaspartate.

**Figure 2**
Rostral anterior cingulate (rACC) activation during the emotional counting Stroop task in participants with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and participants without OCD. (a) Between-group difference in activation in rACC for OCD-specific words *versus* neutral words (OCD participants >non-OCD participants). Presented for visualization using a threshold of P<0.001, uncorrected. Color bar indicates t-values. Signal change values extracted from this rACC cluster (P<0.05, FWE corrected) for (b) OCD-specific words *versus* neutral words and for (c) individual word types (OCD-specific and neutral) relative to baseline fixation.

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References

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An Examination of Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex Function and Neurochemistry in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

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An Examination of Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex Function and Neurochemistry in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

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