Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Brain activation of the defensive and appetitive survival systems in obsessive compulsive disorder

Brain Imaging and Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Cite this article

Abstract

Several studies have shown that basic emotions are responsible for a significant enhancement of early visual processes and increased activation in visual processing brain regions. It may be possible that the cognitive uncertainty and repeated behavioral checking evident in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is due to the existence of abnormalities in basic survival circuits, particularly those associated with the visual processing of the physical characteristics of emotional-laden stimuli. The objective of the present study was to test if patients with OCD show evidence of altered basic survival circuits, particularly those associated with the visual processing of the physical characteristics of emotional stimuli. Fifteen patients with OCD and 12 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging acquisition while being exposed to emotional pictures, with different levels of arousal, intended to trigger the defensive and appetitive basic survival circuits. Overall, the present results seem to indicate dissociation in the activity of the defense and appetitive survival systems in OCD. Results suggest that the clinical group reacts to basic threat with a strong activation of the defensive system mobilizing widespread brain networks (i.e., frontal, temporal, occipital-parietal, and subcortical nucleus) and blocking the activation of the appetitive system when facing positive emotional triggers from the initial stages of visual processing (i.e., superior occipital gyrus).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler, C. M., McDonough-Ryan, P., Sax, K. W., Holland, S. K., Arndt, S., & Strakowski, S. M. (2000). fMRI of neuronal activation with symptom provocation in unmedicated patients with obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 34(4–5), 317–324.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Amaral, D. G., Behniea, H., & Kelly, J. L. (2003). Topographic organization of projections from the amygdala to the visual cortex in the macaque monkey. Neuroscience, 118(4), 1099–1120.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aouizerate, B., Guehl, D., Cuny, E., Rougier, A., Bioulac, B., Tignol, J., & Burbaud, P. (2004). Pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a necessary link between phenomenology, neuropsychology, imagery and physiology. Progress in Neurobiology, 72(3), 195–221. doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2004.02.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Garbin, M. G. (1988). Psychometric properties of the beck depression inventory. Clinical Psychology Review, 8(1), 77–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloch, M. H., Landeros-Weisenberger, A., Rosario, M. C., Pittenger, C., & Leckman, J. F. (2008). Meta-analysis of the symptom structure of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(12), 1532–1542. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.08020320.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, M. M., Codispoti, M., Cuthbert, B. N., & Lang, P. J. (2001). Emotion and motivation I: defensive and appetitive reactions in picture processing. Emotion, 1(3), 276–298.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, M. M., Codispoti, M., & Lang, P. J. (2006). A multi-process account of startle modulation during affective perception. Psychophysiology, 43(5), 486–497. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2006.00412.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Casado, Y., Cobos, P., Godoy, A., Machado-Pinheiro, W., & Vila, J. (2011). Emotional processing in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25(8), 1068–1071. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.07.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Del Casale, A., Kotzalidis, G. D., Rapinesi, C., Serata, D., Ambrosi, E., Simonetti, A., Pompili, M., Ferracuti, S., Tatarelli, R., & Girardi, P. (2011). Functional neuroimaging in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Neuropsychobiology, 64(2), 61–85. doi:10.1159/000325223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • den Braber, A., van’t Ent, D., Cath, D. C., Wagner, J., Boomsma, D. I., & de Geus, E. J. (2010). Brain activation during cognitive planning in twins discordant or concordant for obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Brain : a journal of neurology, 133(10), 3123–3140. doi:10.1093/brain/awq229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, M., & Wiliams, J. B. W. (1996). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis I disorders, clinician version (SCID-CV). Washington: American Psychiatric Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedlander, L., & Desrocher, M. (2006). Neuroimaging studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults and children. Clinical Psychology Review, 26(1), 32–49. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2005.06.010.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, W. K., Price, L. H., Rasmussen, S. A., Mazure, C., Fleischmann, R. L., Hill, C. L., Heninger, G. R., & Charney, D. S. (1989). The Yale-brown obsessive compulsive scale. I. Development, use, and reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46(11), 1006–1011.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. W., Sohn, D. W., Cho, Y. H., Yang, W. S., Lee, K. U., Juh, R., Ahn, K. J., Chung, Y. A., Han, S. I., Lee, K. H., Lee, C. U., & Chae, J. H. (2006). Brain activation by visual erotic stimuli in healthy middle aged males. International Journal of Impotence Research, 18(5), 452–457. doi:10.1038/sj.ijir.3901449.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J., Blake, R., Park, S., Shin, Y. W., Kang, D. H., & Kwon, J. S. (2008). Selective impairment in visual perception of biological motion in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 25(7), E15–25. doi:10.1002/da.20402.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kwon, J. S., Jang, J. H., Choi, J. S., & Kang, D. H. (2009). Neuroimaging in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 9(2), 255–269. doi:10.1586/14737175.9.2.255.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, P. J., & Bradley, M. M. (2013). Appetitive and defensive motivation: goal-directed or goal-determined? Emotion review : journal of the International Society for Research on Emotion, 5(3), 230–234. doi:10.1177/1754073913477511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LeDoux, J. (2012). Rethinking the emotional brain. Neuron, 73(4), 653–676. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2012.02.004.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mataix-Cols, D., Wooderson, S., Lawrence, N., Brammer, M. J., Speckens, A., & Phillips, M. L. (2004). Distinct neural correlates of washing, checking, and hoarding symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61(6), 564–576. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.61.6.564.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olatunji, B. O., Ciesielski, B. G., & Zald, D. H. (2011). A selective impairment in attentional disengagement from erotica in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 35(8), 1977–1982. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2011.07.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oldfield, R. C. (1971). The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia, 9(1), 97–113.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phelps, E. A., Ling, S., & Carrasco, M. (2006). Emotion facilitates perception and potentiates the perceptual benefits of attention. Psychological Science, 17(4), 292–299. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01701.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radomsky, A. S., & Alcolado, G. M. (2010). Don’t even think about checking: mental checking causes memory distrust. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 41, 345–351.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rampacher, F., Lennertz, L., Vogeley, A., Schulze-Rauschenbach, S., Kathmann, N., Falkai, P., & Wagner, M. (2010). Evidence for specific cognitive deficits in visual information processing in patients with OCD compared to patients with unipolar depression. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 34(6), 984–991. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2010.05.008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosso, S. M., Roks, G., Stevens, M., de Koning, I., Tanghe, H. L. J., Kamphorst, W., Ravid, R., Niermeijer, M. F., & van Swieten, J. C. (2001). Complex compulsive behaviour in the temporal variant of frontotemporal dementia. Journal of Neurology, 248(11), 965–970.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rotge, J. Y., Guehl, D., Dilharreguy, B., Cuny, E., Tignol, J., Bioulac, B., Allard, M., Burbaud, P., & Aouizerate, B. (2008). Provocation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms: a quantitative voxel-based meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies. Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN, 33(5), 405–412.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotge, J. Y., Langbour, N., Guehl, D., Bioulac, B., Jaafari, N., Allard, M., Aouizerate, B., & Burbaud, P. (2010). Gray matter alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder: an anatomic likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 35(3), 686–691. doi:10.1038/npp.2009.175.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sabatinelli, D., Bradley, M. M., Fitzsimmons, J. R., & Lang, P. J. (2005). Parallel amygdala and inferotemporal activation reflect emotional intensity and fear relevance. NeuroImage, 24(4), 1265–1270. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.12.015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sabatinelli, D., Lang, P. J., Bradley, M. M., Costa, V. D., & Keil, A. (2009). The timing of emotional discrimination in human amygdala and ventral visual cortex. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 29(47), 14864–14868. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3278-09.2009.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sabatinelli, D., Fortune, E. E., Li, Q., Siddiqui, A., Krafft, C., Oliver, W. T., Beck, S., & Jeffries, J. (2011). Emotional perception: meta-analyses of face and natural scene processing. NeuroImage, 54(3), 2524–2533. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.10.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shapira, N. A., Liu, Y., He, A. G., Bradley, M. M., Lessig, M. C., James, G. A., Stein, D. J., Lang, P. J., & Goodman, W. K. (2003). Brain activation by disgust-inducing pictures in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 54(7), 751–756.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shin, N. Y., Jang, J. H., Kim, H. S., Shim, G., Hwang, J. Y., Kim, S. N., & Kwon, J. S. (2013). Impaired body but not face perception in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Neuropsychology, 7, 58–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tzourio-Mazoyer, N., Landeau, B., Papathanassiou, D., Crivello, F., Etard, O., Delcroix, N., Mazoyer, B., & Joliot, M. (2002). Automated anatomical labeling of activations in SPM using a macroscopic anatomical parcellation of the MNI MRI single-subject brain. NeuroImage, 15(1), 273–289. doi:10.1006/nimg.2001.0978.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van den Heuvel, O. A., Remijnse, P. L., Mataix-Cols, D., Vrenken, H., Groenewegen, H. J., Uylings, H. B., van Balkom, A. J., & Veltman, D. J. (2009). The major symptom dimensions of obsessive-compulsive disorder are mediated by partially distinct neural systems. Brain : a journal of neurology, 132(Pt 4), 853–868. doi:10.1093/brain/awn267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wendt, J., Weike, A. I., Lotze, M., & Hamm, A. O. (2011). The functional connectivity between amygdala and extra striate visual cortex activity during emotional picture processing depends on stimulus novelty. Biological Psychology, 86, 203–209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, L. M., Das, P., Liddell, B. J., Kemp, A. H., Rennie, C. J., & Gordon, E. (2006). Mode of functional connectivity in amygdala pathways dissociates level of awareness for signals of fear. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 26(36), 9264–9271. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1016-06.2006.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, P., He, G., Shapira, N. A., Goodman, W. K., & Liu, Y. (2004). Disgust and the insula: fMRI responses to pictures of mutilation and contamination. Neuroreport, 15(15), 2347–2351.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yamanishi, T., Nakaaki, S., Omori, I. M., Hashimoto, N., Shinagawa, Y., Hongo, J., Horikoshi, M., Tohyama, J., Akechi, T., Soma, T., Iidaka, T., & Furukawa, T. A. (2009). Changes after behavior therapy among responsive and nonresponsive patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 172(3), 242–250. doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.07.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, 404 Int’l Village, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Óscar F. Gonçalves, Sandra Carvalho, Jorge Leite, Ana Fernandes-Gonçalves & Brandon Frank

  2. Neuropsychophysiology Laboratory, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Óscar F. Gonçalves, Sandra Carvalho, Jorge Leite, Ana Ganho & Adriana Sampaio

  3. Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    José Miguel Soares

  4. ICVS-3Bs PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Guimarães, Portugal

    José Miguel Soares

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Coimbra Hospitals, Coimbra, Portugal

    Fernando Pocinho & João Relvas

  6. Forensic Genetics Unit, Institute of Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain

    Angel Carracedo

Authors
  1. Óscar F. Gonçalves
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. José Miguel Soares
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sandra Carvalho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jorge Leite
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ana Ganho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ana Fernandes-Gonçalves
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Brandon Frank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Fernando Pocinho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. João Relvas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Angel Carracedo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Adriana Sampaio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Óscar F. Gonçalves.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gonçalves, Ó.F., Soares, J.M., Carvalho, S. et al. Brain activation of the defensive and appetitive survival systems in obsessive compulsive disorder. Brain Imaging and Behavior 9, 255–263 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-014-9303-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-014-9303-2

Keywords

search

Navigation