OBJECTIVE: 

Executive dysfunction might be an important determinant for response to pharmacotherapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and could be sustained independently of symptom relief. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been indicated as a potential neural correlate of executive functioning in OCD. The present study examined the brain-executive function relationships in OCD from the ACC-based resting state functional connectivity networks (rs-FCNs), which reflect information processing mechanisms during task performance. 

METHODS: 

For a total of 58 subjects [OCD, n=24; healthy controls (HCs), n=34], four subdomains of executive functioning were measured using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT), the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the Trail Making Test part B (TMT-B). To probe for differential patterns of the brain-cognition relationship in OCD compared to HC, the ACC-centered rs-FCN were calculated using five seed regions systemically placed throughout the ACC. 

RESULTS: 

Significant differences between the OCD group and the HCs with respect to the WCST perseverative errors, SCWT interference scores, and TMT-B reaction times (p<0.05) were observed. Moreover, significant interactions between diagnosisxdorsal ACC [S3]-based rs-FCN strength in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for RCFT organization summary scores as well as between diagnosisxperigenual ACC [S7]-based rs-FCN strength in the left frontal eye field for SCWT color-word interference scores were unveiled. 

CONCLUSION: 

These network-based neural foundations for executive dysfunction in OCD could become a potential target of future treatment, which could improve global domains of functioning broader than symptomatic relief.