Mapping gray and white matter volume abnormalities in early-onset psychosis: an ENIGMA multicenter voxel-based morphometry study.

INTRODUCTION: Regional gray matter (GM) alterations have been reported in early-onset psychosis (EOP, onset before age 18), but previous studies have yielded conflicting results, likely due to small sample sizes and the different brain regions examined. In this study, we conducted a whole brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis in a large sample of individuals with EOP, using the newly developed ENIGMA-VBM tool. METHODS: 15 independent cohorts from the ENIGMA-EOP working group participated in the study. The overall sample comprised T1-weighted MRI data from 482 individuals with EOP and 469 healthy controls. Each site performed the VBM analysis locally using the standardized ENIGMA-VBM tool. Statistical parametric T-maps were generated from each cohort and meta-analyzed to reveal voxel-wise differences between EOP and healthy controls as well as the individual-based association between GM volume and age of onset, chlorpromazine (CPZ) equivalent dose, and other clinical variables. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, individuals with EOP showed widespread lower GM volume encompassing most of the cortex, with the most marked effect in the left median cingulate (Hedges' g = 0.55, p = 0.001 corrected), as well as small clusters of lower white matter (WM), whereas no regional GM or WM volumes were higher in EOP. Lower GM volume in the cerebellum, thalamus and left inferior parietal gyrus was associated with older age of onset. Deficits in GM in the left inferior frontal gyrus, right insula, right precentral gyrus and right superior frontal gyrus were also associated with higher CPZ equivalent doses. CONCLUSION: EOP is associated with widespread reductions in cortical GM volume, while WM is affected to a smaller extent. GM volume alterations are associated with age of onset and CPZ equivalent dose but these effects are small compared to case-control differences. Mapping anatomical abnormalities in EOP may lead to a better understanding of the role of psychosis in brain development during childhood and adolescence.

The functional connectome in obsessive-compulsive disorder: resting-state mega-analysis and machine learning classification for the ENIGMA-OCD consortium.

Current knowledge about functional connectivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is based on small-scale studies, limiting the generalizability of results. Moreover, the majority of studies have focused only on predefined regions or functional networks rather than connectivity throughout the entire brain. Here, we investigated differences in resting-state functional connectivity between OCD patients and healthy controls (HC) using mega-analysis of data from 1024 OCD patients and 1028 HC from 28 independent samples of the ENIGMA-OCD consortium. We assessed group differences in whole-brain functional connectivity at both the regional and network level, and investigated whether functional connectivity could serve as biomarker to identify patient status at the individual level using machine learning analysis. The mega-analyses revealed widespread abnormalities in functional connectivity in OCD, with global hypo-connectivity (Cohen's d: -0.27 to -0.13) and few hyper-connections, mainly with the thalamus (Cohen's d: 0.19 to 0.22). Most hypo-connections were located within the sensorimotor network and no fronto-striatal abnormalities were found. Overall, classification performances were poor, with area-under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUC) scores ranging between 0.567 and 0.673, with better classification for medicated (AUC = 0.702) than unmedicated (AUC = 0.608) patients versus healthy controls. These findings provide partial support for existing pathophysiological models of OCD and highlight the important role of the sensorimotor network in OCD. However, resting-state connectivity does not so far provide an accurate biomarker for identifying patients at the individual level.

Neural predictors of cognitive-behavior therapy outcome in anxiety-related disorders: a meta-analysis of task-based fMRI studies.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) is a well-established first-line intervention for anxiety-related disorders, including specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder/agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Several neural predictors of CBT outcome for anxiety-related disorders have been proposed, but previous results are inconsistent. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies investigating whole-brain predictors of CBT outcome in anxiety-related disorders (17 studies, n = 442). RESULTS: Across different tasks, we observed that brain response in a network of regions involved in salience and interoception processing, encompassing fronto-insular (the right inferior frontal gyrus-anterior insular cortex) and fronto-limbic (the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex-dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) cortices was strongly associated with a positive CBT outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that there are robust neural predictors of CBT outcome in anxiety-related disorders that may eventually lead (probably in combination with other data) to develop personalized approaches for the treatment of these mental disorders.

Perceived stress modulates the activity between the amygdala and the cortex.

The significant link between stress and psychiatric disorders has prompted research on stress's impact on the brain. Interestingly, previous studies on healthy subjects have demonstrated an association between perceived stress and amygdala volume, although the mechanisms by which perceived stress can affect brain function remain unknown. To better understand what this association entails at a functional level, herein, we explore the association of perceived stress, measured by the PSS10 questionnaire, with disseminated functional connectivity between brain areas. Using resting-state fMRI from 252 healthy subjects spanning a broad age range, we performed both a seed-based amygdala connectivity analysis (static connectivity, with spatial resolution but no temporal definition) and a whole-brain data-driven approach to detect altered patterns of phase interactions between brain areas (dynamic connectivity with spatiotemporal information). Results show that increased perceived stress is directly associated with increased amygdala connectivity with frontal cortical regions, which is driven by a reduced occurrence of an activity pattern where the signals in the amygdala and the hippocampus evolve in opposite directions with respect to the rest of the brain. Overall, these results not only reinforce the pathological effect of in-phase synchronicity between subcortical and cortical brain areas but also demonstrate the protective effect of counterbalanced (i.e., phase-shifted) activity between brain subsystems, which are otherwise missed with correlation-based functional connectivity analysis.

Association of amygdala size with stress perception: Findings of a transversal study across the lifespan.

Daily routines are getting increasingly stressful. Interestingly, associations between stress perception and amygdala volume, a brain region implicated in emotional behaviour, have been observed in both younger and older adults. Life stress, on the other hand, has become pervasive and is no longer restricted to a specific age group or life stage. As a result, it is vital to consider stress as a continuum across the lifespan. In this study, we investigated the relationship between perceived stress and amygdala size in 272 healthy participants with a broad age range. Participants were submitted to a structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to extract amygdala volume, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores were used as the independent variable in volumetric regressions. We found that perceived stress is positively associated with the right amygdala volume throughout life.

Multimodal meta-analysis of structural gray matter, neurocognitive and social cognitive fMRI findings in schizophrenia patients.

Neuroimaging research has shown that patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) present brain structural and functional alterations, but the results across imaging modalities and task paradigms are difficult to reconcile. Specifically, no meta-analyses have tested whether the same brain systems that are structurally different in SCZ patients are also involved in neurocognitive and social cognitive tasks. To answer this, we conducted separate meta-analyses of voxel-based morphometry, neurocognitive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and social cognitive fMRI studies. Next, with a multimodal approach, we identified the common alterations across meta-analyses. Further exploratory meta-analyses were performed taking into account several clinical variables (illness duration, medication status, and symptom severity). A cluster covering the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and the supplementary motor area (SMA), and the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), presented shared structural and neurocognitive-related activation decreases, while the right angular gyrus presented shared decreases between structural and social cognitive-related activation. The exploratory meta-analyses replicated to some extent these findings, while new regions of alterations appeared in patient subgroups with specific clinical features. In conclusion, we found task-specific correlates of brain structure and function in SCZ, which help summarize and integrate a growing literature.

Habitual coffee drinkers display a distinct pattern of brain functional connectivity.

Coffee is the most widely consumed source of caffeine worldwide, partly due to the psychoactive effects of this methylxanthine. Interestingly, the effects of its chronic consumption on the brain's intrinsic functional networks are still largely unknown. This study provides the first extended characterization of the effects of chronic coffee consumption on human brain networks. Subjects were recruited and divided into two groups: habitual coffee drinkers (CD) and non-coffee drinkers (NCD). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was acquired in these volunteers who were also assessed regarding stress, anxiety, and depression scores. In the neuroimaging evaluation, the CD group showed decreased functional connectivity in the somatosensory and limbic networks during resting state as assessed with independent component analysis. The CD group also showed decreased functional connectivity in a network comprising subcortical and posterior brain regions associated with somatosensory, motor, and emotional processing as assessed with network-based statistics; moreover, CD displayed longer lifetime of a functional network involving subcortical regions, the visual network and the cerebellum. Importantly, all these differences were dependent on the frequency of caffeine consumption, and were reproduced after NCD drank coffee. CD showed higher stress levels than NCD, and although no other group effects were observed in this psychological assessment, increased frequency of caffeine consumption was also associated with increased anxiety in males. In conclusion, higher consumption of coffee and caffeinated products has an impact in brain functional connectivity at rest with implications in emotionality, alertness, and readiness to action.

Differential patterns of brain activation between hoarding disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder during executive performance.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary evidence suggests that hoarding disorder (HD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may show distinct patterns of brain activation during executive performance, although results have been inconclusive regarding the specific neural correlates of their differential executive dysfunction. In the current study, we aim to evaluate differences in brain activation between patients with HD, OCD and healthy controls (HCs) during response inhibition, response switching and error processing. METHODS: We assessed 17 patients with HD, 18 patients with OCD and 19 HCs. Executive processing was assessed inside a magnetic resonance scanner by means of two variants of a cognitive control protocol (i.e. stop- and switch-signal tasks), which allowed for the assessment of the aforementioned executive domains. RESULTS: OCD patients performed similar to the HCs, differing only in the number of successful go trials in the switch-signal task. However, they showed an anomalous hyperactivation of the right rostral anterior cingulate cortex during error processing in the switch-signal task. Conversely, HD patients performed worse than OCD and HC participants in both tasks, showing an impulsive-like pattern of response (i.e. shorter reaction time and more commission errors). They also exhibited hyperactivation of the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex during successful response switching and abnormal deactivation of frontal regions during error processing in both tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support that patients with HD and OCD present dissimilar cognitive profiles, supported by distinct neural mechanisms. Specifically, while alterations in HD resemble an impulsive pattern of response, patients with OCD present increased error processing during response conflict protocols.

Intrinsic functional and structural connectivity of emotion regulation networks in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Despite emotion regulation being altered in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), no studies have investigated its relation to multimodal amygdala connectivity. We compared corticolimbic functional and structural connectivity between OCD patients and healthy controls (HCs), and correlated this with the dispositional use of emotion regulation strategies and with OCD severity. OCD patients (n = 73) and HCs (n = 42) were assessed for suppression and reappraisal strategies using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and for OCD severity using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) connectivity maps were generated using subject-specific left amygdala (LA) and right amygdala (RA) masks. We identified between-group differences in amygdala whole-brain connectivity, and evaluated the moderating effect of ERQ strategies. Significant regions and amygdala seeds were used as targets in probabilistic tractography analysis. Patients scored higher in suppression and lower in reappraisal. We observed higher rs-fMRI RA-right postcentral gyrus (PCG) connectivity in HC, and in patients this was correlated with symptom severity. Reappraisal scores were associated with higher negative LA-left insula connectivity in HC, and suppression scores were negatively associated with LA-precuneus and angular gyri connectivity in OCD. Structurally, patients showed higher mean diffusivity in tracts connecting the amygdala with the other targets. RA-PCG connectivity is diminished in patients, while disrupted emotion regulation is related to altered amygdala connectivity with the insula and posterior brain regions. Our results are the first showing, from a multimodal perspective, the association between amygdala connectivity and specific emotional processing domains, emphasizing the importance of amygdala connectivity in OCD pathophysiology.

Researchers' sex/gender identity influences how sex/gender question is investigated in neuroscience: an example from an OHBM meeting.

Gender inequality and diversity in STEM is a challenging field of research. Although the relation between the sex/gender of the researcher and the scientific research practices has been previously examined, less interest has been demonstrated towards the relation between sex/gender of the researcher and the way sex/gender as a variable is explored. Here, we examine, from a neurofeminist perspective, both questions: whether sex/gender identity is related to the examination of sex/gender as a variable and whether different approaches towards examining sex/gender are being used in different topics of study within neuroscience. Using the database of submitted posters to the Organization of Human Brain Mapping 2022 annual conference, we identified abstracts examining a sex/gender-related research question. Among these target abstracts, we identified four analytical categories, varying in their degree of content-related complexity: (1) sex/gender as a covariate, (2) sex/gender as a binary variable for the study of sex/gender differences, (3) sex/gender with additional biological information, and (4) sex/gender with additional social information. Statistical comparisons between sex/gender of researcher and the target abstract showed that the proportion of abstracts from Non-binary or Other first authors compared to both Women and Men was lower for all submitted abstracts than for the target abstracts; that more researchers with sex/gender-identity other than man implemented analytical category of sex/gender with additional social information; and, for instance, that research involving cognitive, affective, and behavioural neuroscience more frequently fit into the sex/gender with additional social information-category. Word cloud analysis confirmed the validity of the four exploratorily identified analytical categories. We conclude by discussing how raising awareness about contemporary neurofeminist approaches, including perspectives from the global south, is critical to neuroscientific and societal progress.

Stress, anxiety, and depression trajectories during the "first wave" of the COVID-19 pandemic: what drives resilient, adaptive and maladaptive responses in the Portuguese population?

Introduction: The COVID-19 outbreak and the community mitigation strategies implemented to reduce new SARS-CoV-2 infections can be regarded as powerful stressors with negative consequences on people's mental health. Although it has been shown that negative emotional symptoms subside during lockdown, it is likely the existence of inter-individual differences in stress, anxiety and depression trajectories throughout lockdown. Objectives: We aimed to cluster participants' according to their trajectories of stress, anxiety and depression scores throughout lockdown, and identify the sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors that may distinguish the subjects included in the different clusters. Methods: From March 23, 2020, to May 31, 2020, participants completed weekly online questionnaires on sociodemographic information (age, sex, education level, and employment status), psychological functioning (DASS-21, NEO-FFI-20), and clinical data (psychiatric disorders, psychiatric medication, physical disorders). Data regarding smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and time spent daily looking for COVID-19-related information were also collected. Stress, anxiety and depression trajectories were determined using latent class mixed models. Results: A total of 2040 participants answered the survey at baseline and 603 participants answered all surveys. Three groups ("Resilient," "Recovered," and "Maladaptive") with distinct mental health trajectories were identified. Younger participants, women, participants with lower education level, not working, studying, diagnosed with a mental disorder, taking psychiatric medication, smokers, those who spent more time consuming COVID-19-related information and those with higher neuroticism tended to cluster in the "Maladaptive" group, placing them at higher risk of persistent negative emotional symptoms during compulsory confinement. Conclusion: Accordingly, a tailored approach to emotional suffering for vulnerable subjects during the COVID-19 and future pandemics must be devised.

Trait anxiety is associated with attentional brain networks.

Trait anxiety is a well-established risk factor for anxiety and depressive disorders, yet its neural correlates are not clearly understood. In this study, we investigated the neural correlates of trait anxiety in a large sample (n = 179) of individuals who completed the trait and state versions of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We used independent component analysis to characterize individual resting-state networks (RSNs), and multiple regression analyses to assess the relationship between trait anxiety and intrinsic connectivity. Trait anxiety was significantly associated with intrinsic connectivity in different regions of three RSNs (dorsal attention network, default mode network, and auditory network) when controlling for state anxiety. These RSNs primarily support attentional processes. Notably, when state anxiety was not controlled for, a different pattern of results emerged, highlighting the importance of considering this factor in assessing the neural correlates of trait anxiety. Our findings suggest that trait anxiety is uniquely associated with resting-state brain connectivity in networks mainly supporting attentional processes. Moreover, controlling for state anxiety is crucial when assessing the neural correlates of trait anxiety. These insights may help refine current neurobiological models of anxiety and identify potential targets for neurobiologically-based interventions.

Determinants of Poor Mental Health of Medical Students in Portugal-A Nationwide Study.

Medical students are a population that is vulnerable to the development of anxiety, depression, and burnout. This observational cross-sectional study sought to assess the levels of distress and identify precipitating factors in all students enrolled in a Portuguese medical school during the academic year of 2022/23. Students (n = 768) were surveyed via validated instruments to measure anxiety, depression, and burnout. Sociodemographic information was also collected through a questionnaire. The study indicated that almost half of this population had depressive symptoms. No differences were found in distress levels between medical schools, and when comparing curricular years, higher levels of distress were found in the pre-clinical years in comparison to the clinical ones. Burnout, being a woman, the existence of physical health problems, homo- and bisexual orientations, affective family problems, problems with relationships in the academic community, difficulties in academic performance, and daily organization were identified as predictors of distress. On the other hand, satisfaction with the social support received and with academic ratings were identified as protective factors. In conclusion, there is a high prevalence of distress in medical students, which is associated with personal, physical, social, economic, and academic factors. The identification of predictive factors of distress may allow for the early identification of vulnerable students and for intervention and prevention strategies to be defined.

Structural and functional brain correlates of suicidal ideation and behaviors in depression: A scoping review of MRI studies.

Identifying and integrating the neural correlates of suicidal ideation and behaviors is crucial to expand the knowledge and develop targeted strategies to prevent suicide. This review aimed to describe the neural correlates of suicidal ideation, behavior and the transition between them, using different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities, providing an up-to-date overview of the literature. To be included, the observational, experimental, or quasi-experimental studies must include adult patients currently diagnosed with major depressive disorder and investigate the neural correlates of suicidal ideation, behavior and/or the transition using MRI. The searches were conducted on PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus. Fifty articles were included in this review: 22 on suicidal ideation, 26 on suicide behaviors and two on the transition between them. The qualitative analysis of the included studies suggested alterations in the frontal, limbic and temporal lobes in suicidal ideation associated with deficits in emotional processing and regulation, and in the frontal, limbic, parietal lobes, and basal ganglia in suicide behaviors associated with impairments in decision-making. Gaps in the literature and methodological concerns were identified and might be addressed in future studies.

The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R): Translation and Validation of the European Portuguese Version.

INTRODUCTION: The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised has been developed to evaluate the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in both clinical and non-clinical individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This questionnaire was applied to 90 people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 246 without a known mental illness. In addition to this clinical evaluation instrument, participants completed other clinical assessment scales that helped characterize the two study groups. RESULTS: Given the objective of this study, to evaluate the structure by six factors, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed [patient group: χ2(120, n = 90) = 205.779, p < 0.01; CFI = 0.916; GFI = 0.814; RMSEA = 0.0890. CONTROL GROUP: χ2(120, n = 246) = 224.762, p < 0.01; CFI = 0.938; GFI = 0.904; RMSEA = 0.060]. To assess the internal consistency of the scale, Cronbach's alpha was determined (patient group: α = 0.913; control group: α = 0.888). Convergent validity was tested by determining the Spearman correlation between the scores obtained in the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised and Y-BOCS in the patient group (r = 0.651; p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised has proved to be a consistent, valid, and reliable instrument with good psychometric properties to determine the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in the Portuguese population.

Introdução: A escala Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised foi desenvolvida para avaliar a gravidade dos sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos em contexto clínico e não clínico. O objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar as propriedades psicométricas da sua versão portuguesa. Material e Métodos: O questionário em estudo foi aplicado a 90 pessoas com perturbação obsessivo-compulsiva e 246 pessoas sem doença psiquiátrica conhecida. Além deste instrumento de avaliação clínica, os participantes preencheram outras escalas de avaliação clínica que ajudaram a caracterizar os dois grupos de estudo. Resultados: Dado o objetivo deste estudo, para avaliar a estrutura por seis fatores foi realizada uma análise fatorial confirmatória [grupo de doentes: χ2(120, n = 90) = 205,779, p < 0.01; CFI = 0,916; GFI = 0,814; RMSEA = 0,0890. Grupo controlo: χ2(120, n = 246) = 224,762, p < 0,01; CFI = 0,938; GFI = 0,904; RMSEA = 0,060]. Para avaliar a consistência interna da escala foi determinado o alpha de Cronbach (grupo de doentes: α = 0,913. grupo controlo: α = 0,888). A validade convergente foi testada através da determinação da correlação de Spearman entre as pontuações obtidas no Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised e Y-BOCS no grupo de doentes (r = 0,651; p < 0,01). Conclusão: O Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised revelou-se um instrumento consistente, válido e fiável com boas propriedades psicométricas para determinar a gravidade dos sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos na população portuguesa.

Anticipatory cues in emotional processing shift the activation of a combined salience sensorimotor functional network in drug-naïve depressed patients.

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder is characterized by a large-scale brain network dysfunction, contributing to impairments in cognitive and affective functioning. Core regions of default mode, limbic and salience networks are also impaired in emotional processing and anticipation. This study aimed to explore default mode, salience, and limbic networks modulation during the processing of emotional stimuli with and without anticipatory cues in depression, and further investigate how these networks were functionally coupled with the rest of the brain. METHODS: Twenty-one drug-naïve depressed patients and 15 matched controls were included in the study. All participants completed a psychological assessment and the affective pictures paradigm during an fMRI acquisition. Group independent component analysis and psychophysiological interactions analyses were performed. RESULTS: A significant interaction between Cue, Valence and Group was found for the salience/sensorimotor network. When processing uncued emotional stimuli, patients showed increased activation of this network for negative vs. neutral pictures, whereas when anticipatory cues were displayed previously to the picture presentation, they invert this pattern of activation (hyperactivating the salience/sensorimotor network for positive vs. neutral pictures). Patients showed increased functional connectivity between the salience/sensorimotor network and the left amygdala as well as the right inferior parietal lobule compared to controls when processing uncued negative pictures. LIMITATIONS: The sample size was modest, and the salience/sensorimotor network included regions not typically identified as part of salience network. Thus, this study should be replicated to further interpret the results. CONCLUSIONS: Anticipatory cues shift the pattern of activation of the salience/sensorimotor network in drug-naïve depressed patients.

Coffee consumption decreases the connectivity of the posterior Default Mode Network (DMN) at rest.

Habitual coffee consumers justify their life choices by arguing that they become more alert and increase motor and cognitive performance and efficiency; however, these subjective impressions still do not have a neurobiological correlation. Using functional connectivity approaches to study resting-state fMRI data in a group of habitual coffee drinkers, we herein show that coffee consumption decreased connectivity of the posterior default mode network (DMN) and between the somatosensory/motor networks and the prefrontal cortex, while the connectivity in nodes of the higher visual and the right executive control network (RECN) is increased after drinking coffee; data also show that caffeine intake only replicated the impact of coffee on the posterior DMN, thus disentangling the neurochemical effects of caffeine from the experience of having a coffee.

Speech graph analysis in obsessive-compulsive disorder: The relevance of dream reports.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a distressing disorder characterized by the presence of intrusive thoughts, images or urges (obsessions) and/or behavioral efforts to reduce the anxiety (compulsions). OCD lifetime prevalence varies between 1% and 3% in the general population and there are no reliable markers that support the diagnosis. In order to fill this gap, Computational Psychiatry employs multiple types of quantitative analyses to improve the understanding, diagnosis, prediction, and treatment of mental illnesses including OCD. One of these computational tools is speech graphs analysis. A graph represents a network of nodes connected by edges: in non-semantic speech graphs, nodes correspond to words and edges correspond to the directed link between consecutive words. Using non-semantic speech graphs, we compared free speech samples from OCD patients and healthy controls (HC), to test whether speech graphs analysis can grasp structural differences in speech between these groups. To this end, 39 OCD patients and 37 HC were interviewed and recorded during six types of speech reports: yesterday, dream, old memory, positive image, negative image and neutral image. Also, the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) and the Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) were used to assess symptom severity. The graph-theoretical structural analysis of dream reports showed that OCD patients have significantly smaller lexical diversity, lower speech connectedness and a higher recurrence of words in comparison with HC. The other five report types failed to show differences between the groups, adding to the notion that dream reports are especially informative of speech structure in different psychiatric states. Further investigation is necessary to completely assess the potential of this tool in OCD.

Right Prefrontal Cortical Thickness Is Associated With Response to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Children With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered a first-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in pediatric and adult populations. Nevertheless, some patients show partial or null response. The identification of predictors of CBT response may improve clinical management of patients with OCD. Here, we aimed to identify structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) predictors of CBT response in 2 large series of children and adults with OCD from the worldwide ENIGMA-OCD consortium. METHOD: Data from 16 datasets from 13 international sites were included in the study. We assessed which variations in baseline cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical volume predicted response to CBT (percentage of baseline to post-treatment symptom reduction) in 2 samples totaling 168 children and adolescents (age range 5-17.5 years) and 318 adult patients (age range 18-63 years) with OCD. Mixed linear models with random intercept were used to account for potential cross-site differences in imaging values. RESULTS: Significant results were observed exclusively in the pediatric sample. Right prefrontal cortex thickness was positively associated with the percentage of CBT response. In a post hoc analysis, we observed that the specific changes accounting for this relationship were a higher thickness of the frontal pole and the rostral middle frontal gyrus. We observed no significant effects of age, sex, or medication on our findings. CONCLUSION: Higher cortical thickness in specific right prefrontal cortex regions may be important for CBT response in children with OCD. Our findings suggest that the right prefrontal cortex plays a relevant role in the mechanisms of action of CBT in children.