Decreased left amygdala functional connectivity by cognitive-coping therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

It is of great clinical importance to explore more efficacious treatments for OCD. Recently, cognitive-coping therapy (CCT), mainly focusing on recognizing and coping with a fear of negative events, has been reported as an efficacious psychotherapy. However, the underlying neurophysiological mechanism remains unknown. This study of 79 OCD patients collected Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans before and after four weeks of CCT, pharmacotherapy plus CCT (pCCT), or pharmacotherapy. Amygdala seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis was performed. Compared post- to pretreatment, pCCT-treated patients showed decreased left amygdala (LA) FC with the right anterior cingulate gyrus (cluster 1) and with the left paracentral lobule/the parietal lobe (cluster 2), while CCT-treated patients showed decreased LA-FC with the left middle occipital gyrus/the left superior parietal/left inferior parietal (cluster 3). The z-values of LA-FC with the three clusters were significantly lower after pCCT or CCT than pretreatment in comparisons of covert vs. overt and of non-remission vs. remission patients, except the z-value of cluster 2 in covert OCD. CCT and pCCT significantly reduced the Y-BOCS score. The reduction in the Y-BOCS score was positively correlated with the z-value of cluster 1. Our findings demonstrate that both pCCT and CCT with large effect sizes lowered LA-FC, indicating that FCs were involved in OCD. Additionally, decreased LA-FC with the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) or paracentral/parietal cortex may be a marker for pCCT response or a marker for distinguishing OCD subtypes. Decreased LA-FC with the parietal region may be a common pathway of pCCT and CCT. Trial registration: ChiCTR-IPC-15005969.

Effects of short-term cognitive-coping therapy on resting-state brain function in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) tends to be treatment refractory. Recently, cognitive-coping therapy (CCT) for OCD is reported to be an efficacious psychotherapy. However, the underlying neurophysiological mechanism remains unknown. Here, the effects of CCT on OCD and the resting-state brain function were investigated. METHODS: Fifty-nine OCD patients underwent CCT, pharmacotherapy plus CCT (pCCT), or pharmacotherapy. Before and after a 4-week treatment, Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) was evaluated and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was scanned. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline, significant reduction of Y-BOCS scores was found after four-week treatment (p < .001) in groups of CCT and pCCT, not in pharmacotherapy. Post-treatment Y-BOCS scores of CCT group and pCCT group were not different, but significantly lower than that of pharmacotherapy group (p < .001). Compared with pretreatment, two clusters of brain regions with significant change in amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) were obtained in those who treated with CCT and pCCT, but not in those who received pharmacotherapy. The ALFF in cluster 1 (insula, putamen, and postcentral gyrus in left cerebrum) was decreased, while the ALFF in cluster 2 (occipital medial gyrus, occipital inferior gyrus, and lingual gyrus in right hemisphere) was increased after treatment (corrected p < .05). The changes of ALFF were correlated with the reduction of Y-BOCS score and were greater in remission than in nonremission. The reduction of the fear of negative events was correlated to the changes of ALFF of clusters and the reduction of Y-BOCS score. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of CCT for OCD was related to the alteration of resting-state brain function-the brain plasticity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-IPC-15005969.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Among University Students: Prospective Cohort Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with common mental health problems. However, evidence for the association between fear of COVID-19 and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine if fear of negative events affects Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) scores in the context of a COVID-19-fear-invoking environment. METHODS: All participants were medical university students and voluntarily completed three surveys via smartphone or computer. Survey 1 was conducted on February 8, 2020, following a 2-week-long quarantine period without classes; survey 2 was conducted on March 25, 2020, when participants had been taking online courses for 2 weeks; and survey 3 was conducted on April 28, 2020, when no new cases had been reported for 2 weeks. The surveys comprised the Y-BOCS and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS); additional items included questions on demographics (age, gender, only child vs siblings, enrollment year, major), knowledge of COVID-19, and level of fear pertaining to COVID-19. RESULTS: In survey 1, 11.3% of participants (1519/13,478) scored ≥16 on the Y-BOCS (defined as possible OCD). In surveys 2 and 3, 3.6% (305/8162) and 3.5% (305/8511) of participants had scores indicative of possible OCD, respectively. The Y-BOCS score, anxiety level, quarantine level, and intensity of fear were significantly lower at surveys 2 and 3 than at survey 1 (P<.001 for all). Compared to those with a lower Y-BOCS score (<16), participants with possible OCD expressed greater intensity of fear and had higher SAS standard scores (P<.001). The regression linear analysis indicated that intensity of fear was positively correlated to the rate of possible OCD and the average total scores for the Y-BOCS in each survey (P<.001 for all). Multiple regressions showed that those with a higher intensity of fear, a higher anxiety level, of male gender, with sibling(s), and majoring in a nonmedicine discipline had a greater chance of having a higher Y-BOCS score in all surveys. These results were redemonstrated in the 5827 participants who completed both surveys 1 and 2 and in the 4006 participants who completed all three surveys. Furthermore, in matched participants, the Y-BOCS score was negatively correlated to changes in intensity of fear (r=0.74 for survey 2, P<.001; r=0.63 for survey 3, P=.006). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that fear of COVID-19 was associated with a greater Y-BOCS score, suggesting that an environment (COVID-19 pandemic) × psychology (fear and/or anxiety) interaction might be involved in OCD and that a fear of negative events might play a role in the etiology of OCD.

Effectiveness of cognitive-coping therapy and alteration of resting-state brain function in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive-coping therapy (CCT), integrating cognitive theory with stress-coping theory, is an efficacious therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the potential brain mediation for the effectiveness remains unclear. We sought to investigate differences of resting-state brain function between OCD and healthy controls and if such differences would be changed by a four-week CCT. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-one OCD patients were recruited and randomized into CCT (n=15) and pharmacotherapy plus CCT (pCCT, n=16) groups, together with 25 age-, gender- and education-matched healthy controls. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was scored to evaluate the severity in symptoms. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was scanned pre- and post-treatment. RESULTS: For patients, Y-BOCS scores were reduced during four-week treatment for CCT and pCCT (P<0.001), but no group difference was observed. No differences in amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) values were found between CCT and pCCT either pre- or post-treatment. Compared to controls, ALFF in OCD patients was higher in the left hippocampus, parahippocampus, and temporal lobes, but lower in the right orbitofrontal cortex, rectus, bilateral calcarine, cuneus, lingual, occipital, left parietal, postcentral, precentral, and parietal (corrected P<0.05). The ALFF in those regions was not significantly correlated to the severity of OCD symptoms. After a 4-week treatment, the ALFF differences between OCD patients and controls disappeared. LIMITATIONS: The pharmacotherapy group was not included since OCD patients generally do not respond to pharmacotherapy in four weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicated that resting-state brain function was different between OCD and controls; such differences disappeared after OCD symptoms were relieved.

Highly efficacious cognitive-coping therapy for overt or covert compulsions.

Pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) present limitations when they are used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a severe and debilitating psychiatric disorder. To search for more efficacious treatment, we investigated the effects of pharmacotherapy plus cognitive-coping therapy (pCCT) on adult OCD patients with overt or covert compulsions. Two hundred and fifteen OCD patients were randomized into pharmacotherapy plus psychological support (PPS, n=107) and pCCT (n=108). The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to measure severity of symptoms in the OCD patients. The Y-BOCS scores were significantly lower in pCCT than in PPS in both acute term (<3 months) and long-term follow-up. In pCCT, severity of symptoms was not different between those with covert compulsions and those with overt compulsions, but was significantly reduced at any post-treatment time-point. Y-BOCS scores in the two subtype compulsions were significantly lower in pCCT than in PPS at any post-treatpost-treatment time-point. Compared with PPS, effect size, response rate and remission rate were significantly higher in pCCT. Our findings corroborated with the hypothesis that pCCT could efficaciously treat OCD with overt compulsions or covert compulsion, suggesting that pCCT might be a potential option for adult OCD.

Cognitive-coping therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

Pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are widely used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These treatments have helped many patients with OCD, but there still is room for improvement. Recently, a promising psychotherapy for OCD, cognitive-coping therapy (CCT), has been developed. Pharmacotherapy plus CCT (PCCT) demonstrates higher efficacy in a shorter period of time and lower relapses than pharmacotherapy or pharmacotherapy plus CBT. In this randomized controlled trial, we investigated the efficacy of CCT for OCD treatment. One hundred and forty-five OCD patients were randomly assigned into two groups: pharmacotherapy (N = 72) and PCCT (N = 73). In each group, drug-resistant (DR) and non-drug-resistant (NDR) OCD were further analyzed to examine the efficacy of CCT. Some clinical features and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) were blindly assessed pre-treatment and post-treatment at week 1, 2, 3, 4, and 12. The Y-BOCS scores were significantly lower in PCCT than in the pharmacotherapy group at any post-treatment time-point (P < 0.001). Compared with pre-treatment, the Y-BOCS scores were significantly reduced at any time-point (P < 0.001) in PCCT group, but only at week 12 (P < 0.001) in the pharmacotherapy group. In the PCCT group, there were no differences between DR and NDR groups' Y-BOCS scores at any post-treatment time-point. The response rates and remission rates were higher in PCCT than in the pharmacotherapy group. Three variables, the number of weeks of treatment, insight, and disregarding of obsessions, were significantly correlated with the Y-BOCS score. Therefore, CCT might be a potential treatment for OCD.

A promising randomized trial of a new therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are currently the most effective interventions for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These treatments, however, are time consuming and in some cases the patients do not show significant improvement. In all, 30%-60% of OCD patients do not respond adequately to pharmacotherapy and 20%-40% of OCD patients who complete CBT do not improve significantly, suggesting a more efficacious approach is needed. The objectives of this study are to demonstrate an efficacious pharmacotherapy plus psychotherapy, named cognitive-coping therapy (CCT), for OCD and to investigate the efficacy of this approach in a larger sample size. Therefore, a total of 108 patients with OCD were randomly allocated into three groups: pharmacotherapy (N = 38), pharmacotherapy plus CBT (PCBT, N = 34), and pharmacotherapy plus CCT (PCCT, N = 36). The severity of symptoms and the patients' functioning were assessed pretreatment and after 7, 14, 21 days, and 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month treatment using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Compared with the pharmacotherapy and PCBT groups, the severity of OCD symptoms was significantly reduced (P < 0.001), the rates of response (100%) and remission (85.0%) were significantly higher (P < 0.001), and relapse rate was lower (P = 0.017) in PCCT group during the 1-year follow-up. In addition, the GAF score was significantly higher in the PCCT group than in the other two groups (P < 0.001). Our preliminary data suggest that PCCT is a more efficacious psychotherapy for OCD patients than pharmacotherapy or PCBT.