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Structural changes in the gray matter of unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a voxel-based morphometric study

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Abstract

The aim of the current study was to use whole brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to assess the gray matter (GM) changes in unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) compared with normal controls. We compared the GM volumes in 28 patients with 22 matched healthy controls using a 1.5T MRI. Three-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained from all participants. VBM was performed to detect GM volume differences between the two groups. We detected increased regional GM volumes in the bilateral middle temporal gyri, bilateral middle occipital gyri, bilateral globus pallidus, right inferior parietal gyrus, left superior parietal gyrus, right parahippocampus, right supramarginal gyrus, right medial superior frontal gyrus, and left inferior frontal opercular cortex in the OCD patients relative to controls (P <0.001, uncorrected, cluster size >100 voxels). No decreased GM volume was found in the OCD group compared with normal controls. Our findings suggest that structural changes in the GM are not limited to fronto-striato-thalamic circuits in the pathogenesis of OCD. Temporo-parietal cortex may also play an important role.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China

    Ling Tan, Chao You & Kemin Chen

  2. Department of Clinical Psychology, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China

    Qing Fan, Jijun Wang, Xuemei Wang, Zeping Xiao & Kaida Jiang

  3. School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China

    Zhao Dong

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  1. Ling Tan
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  2. Qing Fan
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  3. Chao You
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  4. Jijun Wang
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  5. Zhao Dong
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  6. Xuemei Wang
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  7. Kemin Chen
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  8. Zeping Xiao
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  9. Kaida Jiang
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Correspondence to Zeping Xiao.

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These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Tan, L., Fan, Q., You, C. et al. Structural changes in the gray matter of unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a voxel-based morphometric study. Neurosci. Bull. 29, 642–648 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-013-1370-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-013-1370-7

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