Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec 25;2(2):126-134.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaacop.2023.11.003. eCollection 2024 Jun.

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Brain Morphology and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Children From the General Population

Cees J Weeland  1   2   3   4 , Chris Vriend  1   2 , Henning Tiemeier  5 , Odile A van den Heuvel  1   2 , Tonya White  3   3
Affiliations

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Brain Morphology and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Children From the General Population

Cees J Weeland et al. JAACAP Open. .

Abstract

Objective: Cross-sectional studies in children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have found larger thalamic volume, which is not found at later ages. We previously found that 9- to 12-year-old children from the general population with clinical-level obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) also have a larger thalamus. Thus, using a longitudinal design, we studied the relationship among thalamic volume, cortical maturation, and the course of OCS.

Method: Children from the population-based Generation R Study underwent 1 or 2 (N = 2,552) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans between the age of 9 and 16 years (baseline 9-12 years, follow-up 13-16 years). OCS were assessed with the Short Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Screener (SOCS) questionnaire using both continuous and clinical cut-off measures to identify children with "probable OCD." We applied linear regression models to investigate the cross-sectional relationship between brain morphology and OCS at age 13 to 16 years. Linear mixed-effect models were fitted to model the bidirectional longitudinal relationship between thalamus and OCS and the thalamus and cortical morphology.

Results: Thalamic volume was not different between probable OCD cases and controls at age 13 to 16 years. Higher baseline thalamic volume predicted a relative persistence of OCS and a flatter slope of thinning in 12 cortical regions.

Conclusion: Larger thalamic volume may be a subtle biomarker for persistent OCS symptoms. The persistence of OCS and cortical thickness in relation to earlier larger thalamic volume may reflect being at an earlier stage in neurodevelopment. Longitudinal designs with repeated multimodal brain imaging are warranted to improve our understanding of the neurodevelopmental processes underlying OCS and OCD.

Study preregistration information: Relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and brain morphology in school-aged children in the general population; https://osf.io/; y6vs2.

Keywords: OCD; cortical thickness; development; imaging; thalamus.

Plain language summary

In this study utilizing Generation R data, 2,552 children from the general population underwent brain scans and assessment of obsessive-compulsive symptoms on 2 occasions between the ages of 10 and 16 years. The brain scans were used to measure the size and shape of various brain regions, including the thalamus and cortical morphology. Although there were no case-control differences, larger baseline thalamic volume predicted persistence of obsessive compulsive symptoms and a flatter slope of thinning of 12 cortical regions. These findings suggest that brain anatomy, and the thalamus in particular, may be a subtle biomarker for persistent symptoms that occur in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Visualization of the Predicted Model Estimates Derived From Linear Mixed-Effects Models for Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Note:The y-axis represents the predicted Short Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Screener (SOCS) scores based on model estimates, and the 2 lines (“low” and “high”) represent 1 SD below and above the mean thalamic volume.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Fawcett E.J., Power H., Fawcett J.M. Women are at greater risk of OCD than men: a meta-analytic review of ocd prevalence worldwide. J Clin Psychiatry. 2020;81(4) - PubMed
    1. Ruscio A.M., Stein D.J., Chiu W.T., Kessler R.C. The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Mol Psychiatry. 2010;15(1):53–63. doi: 10.1038/mp.2008.94. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Evans D.W., Lewis M.D., Iobst E. The role of the orbitofrontal cortex in normally developing compulsive-like behaviors and obsessive–compulsive disorder. Brain Cogn. 2004;55(1):220–234. - PubMed
    1. Fullana M.A., Vilagut G., Rojas-Farreras S., et al. Obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions in the general population: results from an epidemiological study in six European countries. J Affect Disord. 2010;124(3):291–299. https://doi:S0165-0327(09)00531-X. - PubMed
    1. Boedhoe P.S., Schmaal L., Abe Y., et al. Distinct subcortical volume alterations in pediatric and adult OCD: a worldwide meta- and mega-analysis. Am J Psychiatry. 2017;174(1):60–69. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16020201. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources