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Cognitive Dysfunction in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

  • Anxiety Disorders (A Pelissolo, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder featuring obsessions (intrusive thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors performed in the context of rigid rituals). There is strong evidence for a neurobiological basis of this disorder, involving limbic cortical regions and related basal ganglion areas. However, more research is needed to lift the veil on the precise nature of that involvement and the way it drives the clinical expression of OCD. Altered cognitive functions may underlie the symptoms and thus draw a link between the clinical expression of the disorder and its neurobiological etiology. Our extensive review demonstrates that OCD patients do present a broad range of neuropsychological dysfunctions across all cognitive domains (memory, attention, flexibility, inhibition, verbal fluency, planning, decision-making), but some methodological issues temper this observation. Thus, future research should have a more integrative approach to cognitive functioning, gathering contributions of both experimental psychology and more fundamental neurosciences.

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Acknowledgments

A special thank you to Dr. Robert Friedel for taking the time to review this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. “Behaviour, Emotion, and Basal Ganglia” Team, Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France

    Nabil Benzina, Luc Mallet, Eric Burguière & Karim N’Diaye

  2. AP-HP, Service de Psychiatrie, DHU PePsy, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Université Paris-Est Créteil, INSERM U955, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France

    Luc Mallet & Antoine Pelissolo

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  1. Nabil Benzina
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Benzina, N., Mallet, L., Burguière, E. et al. Cognitive Dysfunction in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Curr Psychiatry Rep 18, 80 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0720-3

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