| Abstract | OBJECTIVE: The error-related negativity is a negative deflection in the event-related potential maximal approximately 50 msec after the commission of errors. The error-related negativity is generated in the anterior cingulate cortex, and both anterior cingulate cortex hyperactivity and increased error-related brain activity have been reported in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, no study to date, to the authors' knowledge, has examined error-related brain activity in pediatric patients with OCD, and no study has examined error-related brain activity in OCD both before and after treatment. METHOD: The error-related negativity was measured in 18 treatment-seeking pediatric patients with OCD and 18 age-matched comparison subjects. Of these patients, 10 returned for a second testing session after cognitive behavior therapy; 13 comparison children participated a second time after a comparable interval. RESULTS: In the pretreatment group, the error-related negativity was reliably larger in pediatric patients with OCD in relation to comparison subjects. This difference was also evident after treatment. There was no relationship between error-related negativity and symptom severity or changes in symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with studies in adult patients, increased error-related brain activity is evident in pediatric patients with OCD. Furthermore, increased error-related brain activity does not appear to change as a function of symptom reduction after therapy. These results suggest that an increased error-related negativity may be a trait-like marker for psychopathology and might be a useful endophenotype. |
| Authors | Greg Hajcak, Martin E Franklin, Edna B Foa, Robert F Simons
(Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, USA. greg.hajcak at stonybrook.edu)
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| Journal | The American journal of psychiatry
(Am J Psychiatry)
Vol. 165
Issue 1
Pg. 116-23
(Jan 2008)
ISSN: 0002-953X United States |
| PMID | 17986681
(Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
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| Topics |
- Adolescent
- Brain
(physiopathology)
- Cognitive Therapy
(methods)
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Electroencephalography
(statistics & numerical data)
- Evoked Potentials
(physiology)
- Female
- Gyrus Cinguli
(physiopathology)
- Humans
- Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
- Male
- Motor Skills
(physiology)
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(diagnosis, physiopathology, therapy)
- Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
(statistics & numerical data)
- Psychomotor Performance
(physiology)
- Reaction Time
(physiology)
- Severity of Illness Index
- Task Performance and Analysis
- Treatment Outcome
- Visual Perception
(physiology)
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