Lianqing Zhang1, Xinyu Hu1, Lu Lu1, Bin Li1, Xiaoxiao Hu1, Xuan Bu1, Hailong Li1, Shi Tang1, Yingxue Gao1, Yanchun Yang1, John A Sweeney1, Qiyong Gong1, Xiaoqi Huang1. 1. From the Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China (Zhang, Xinyu Hu, Lu, Xiaoxiao Hu, Bu, Li, Tang, Gao, Sweeney, Gong, Huang); the Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China (Li, Yang); the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA (Sweeney); and the Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China (Zhang, Xinyu Hu, Lu, Xiaoxiao Hu, Bu, Li, Tang, Gao, Gong, Huang).
Abstract
Background: The amygdala has been implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a common, disabling illness. However, the regional distribution of anatomic alterations in this structure and their association with the symptoms of OCD remains to be established. Methods: We collected high-resolution 3D T1-weighted images from 81 untreated patients with OCD and no lifetime history of comorbid psychotic, affective or anxiety disorders, and from 95 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We extracted the volume of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) and compared them across groups using FreeSurfer 6.0. In exploratory analyses, we evaluated other subnuclei, including the cortical medial nuclei, the anterior amygdaloid area, and the corticoamygdaloid transition area. Results: Patients with OCD had reduced amygdala volume bilaterally compared with healthy controls (left, p = 0.034; right, p = 0.002). Volume reductions were greater in the CeA (left: -11.9%, p = 0.002; right: -13.3%, p < 0.001) than in the BLA (left lateral nucleus: -3.3%, p = 0.029; right lateral nucleus: -3.9%, p = 0.018; right basal nucleus: -4.1%, p = 0.017; left accessory basal nucleus: -6.5%, p = 0.001; right accessory basal nucleus: -9.3%, p < 0.001). Volume reductions in the CeA were associated with illness duration. Exploratory analysis revealed smaller medial (left: -15.4%, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.101) and cortical (left: -9.1%, p = 0.001, η2 = 0.058; right: -15.4%, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.175) nuclei in patients with OCD compared with healthy controls. Limitations: Although the strict exclusion criteria used in the study helped us to identify OCD-specific alterations, they may have limited generalizability to the broader OCD population. Conclusion: Our results provide a comprehensive anatomic profile of alterations in the amygdala subnuclei in untreated patients with OCD and highlight a distinctive pattern of volume reductions across subnuclei in OCD. Based on the functional properties of the amygdala subnuclei established from preclinical research, CeA impairment may contribute to behavioural inflexibility, and BLA disruption may be responsible for altered fear conditioning and the affective components of OCD.
Background: The amygdala has been implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a common, disabling illness. However, the regional distribution of anatomic alterations in this structure and their association with the symptoms of OCD remains to be established. Methods: We collected high-resolution 3D T1-weighted images from 81 untreated patients with OCD and no lifetime history of comorbid psychotic, affective or anxiety disorders, and from 95 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We extracted the volume of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) and compared them across groups using FreeSurfer 6.0. In exploratory analyses, we evaluated other subnuclei, including the cortical medial nuclei, the anterior amygdaloid area, and the corticoamygdaloid transition area. Results:Patients with OCD had reduced amygdala volume bilaterally compared with healthy controls (left, p = 0.034; right, p = 0.002). Volume reductions were greater in the CeA (left: -11.9%, p = 0.002; right: -13.3%, p < 0.001) than in the BLA (left lateral nucleus: -3.3%, p = 0.029; right lateral nucleus: -3.9%, p = 0.018; right basal nucleus: -4.1%, p = 0.017; left accessory basal nucleus: -6.5%, p = 0.001; right accessory basal nucleus: -9.3%, p < 0.001). Volume reductions in the CeA were associated with illness duration. Exploratory analysis revealed smaller medial (left: -15.4%, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.101) and cortical (left: -9.1%, p = 0.001, η2 = 0.058; right: -15.4%, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.175) nuclei in patients with OCD compared with healthy controls. Limitations: Although the strict exclusion criteria used in the study helped us to identify OCD-specific alterations, they may have limited generalizability to the broader OCD population. Conclusion: Our results provide a comprehensive anatomic profile of alterations in the amygdala subnuclei in untreated patients with OCD and highlight a distinctive pattern of volume reductions across subnuclei in OCD. Based on the functional properties of the amygdala subnuclei established from preclinical research, CeA impairment may contribute to behavioural inflexibility, and BLA disruption may be responsible for altered fear conditioning and the affective components of OCD.
Authors: Stephane Ciocchi; Cyril Herry; François Grenier; Steffen B E Wolff; Johannes J Letzkus; Ioannis Vlachos; Ingrid Ehrlich; Rolf Sprengel; Karl Deisseroth; Michael B Stadler; Christian Müller; Andreas Lüthi Journal: Nature Date: 2010-11-11 Impact factor: 49.962
Authors: J F Leckman; D E Grice; J Boardman; H Zhang; A Vitale; C Bondi; J Alsobrook; B S Peterson; D J Cohen; S A Rasmussen; W K Goodman; C J McDougle; D L Pauls Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 1997-07 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Jennifer C Britton; S Evelyn Stewart; William D S Killgore; Isabelle M Rosso; Lauren M Price; Andrea L Gold; Daniel S Pine; Sabine Wilhelm; Michael A Jenike; Scott L Rauch Journal: Depress Anxiety Date: 2010-07 Impact factor: 6.505
Authors: Diane Seguin; Sara Pac; Jianan Wang; Rob Nicolson; Julio Martinez-Trujillo; Evdokia Anagnostou; Jason P Lerch; Christopher Hammill; Russell Schachar; Jennifer Crosbie; Elizabeth Kelley; Muhammad Ayub; Jessica Brian; Xudong Liu; Paul D Arnold; Stelios Georgiades; Emma G Duerden Journal: Hum Brain Mapp Date: 2022-07-12 Impact factor: 5.399