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Can Neuroimaging Provide Reliable Biomarkers for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? A Narrative Review

  • Anxiety Disorders (A Pelissolo, Section Editor)
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Abstract

In this integrative review, we discuss findings supporting the use neuroimaging biomarkers in the diagnosis and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To do so, we have selected the most recent studies that attempted to identify the underlying pathogenic process associated with OCD and whether they provide useful information to predict clinical features, natural history or treatment responses. Studies using functional magnetic resonance (fMRI), voxel-based morphometry (VBM), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) in OCD patients are generally supportive of an expanded version of the earlier cortico-striatal-thalamus-cortical (CSTC) model of OCD. Although it is still unclear whether this information will be incorporated into the daily clinical practice (due to current conceptual approaches to mental illness), statistical techniques, such as pattern recognition methods, appear promising in identifying OCD patients and predicting their outcomes.

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  1. Obsessive, Compulsive, and Anxiety Spectrum Research Program, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Ilana Frydman, Juliana B. de Salles Andrade, Paula Vigne & Leonardo F. Fontenelle

  2. D’Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Leonardo F. Fontenelle

  3. Brain and Mental Health Laboratory, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Leonardo F. Fontenelle

  4. Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 547, 617, Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22410-003, Brazil

    Leonardo F. Fontenelle

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Frydman, I., de Salles Andrade, J.B., Vigne, P. et al. Can Neuroimaging Provide Reliable Biomarkers for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? A Narrative Review. Curr Psychiatry Rep 18, 90 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0729-7

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