Premium
Selective cognitive deficits in obsessive‐compulsive disorder compared to panic disorder with agoraphobia
Author(s) -
Boldrini M.,
Del Pace L.,
Placidi G. P. A.,
Keilp J.,
Ellis S. P.,
Signori S.,
Placidi G. F.,
Cappa S. F.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2004.00247.x
Subject(s) - psychology , panic disorder , hamilton anxiety rating scale , verbal fluency test , anxiety disorder , neuropsychology , agoraphobia , anxiety , cognition , rating scale , generalized anxiety disorder , specific phobia , executive functions , clinical psychology , psychiatry , audiology , developmental psychology , medicine
Objective: Visual‐spatial and executive functions deficits have been reported in obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD). We investigated their specificity comparing cognitive function in OCD, panic disorder with agoraphobia (PD/A) and controls by a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Method: Fifty‐five subjects (25 OCD, 15 PD/A, 15 controls) without current depressive episode underwent structured clinical interview for DSM‐IV, Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Neuropsychological battery assessed: executive functions, visual discrimination, spatial memory and learning, verbal memory, general intellectual functioning. Results: OCD showed controlled fluency, visual‐spatial construction, learning and memory deficits; PD/A spatial learning impairment. OCD was discriminated from PD/A and controls by three tests scores, predicting group membership for 76.4% of the cases. Conclusion: Visual‐constructive and controlled fluency deficits seem specific in OCD, while the spatial learning deficit, shared with PD patients, may not be disorder‐specific, but anxiety‐related. Results support the proposed ventral frontal‐striatal circuit involvement in OCD.