Executive Functioning and Clinical Variables in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, and working memory are considered the main mechanisms responsible for executive control. This study examined differences in cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) relative to a control gro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain sciences 2021-02, Vol.11 (2), p.267
Main Authors: Martínez-Esparza, Inmaculada Concepción, Olivares-Olivares, Pablo J, Rosa-Alcázar, Ángel, Rosa-Alcázar, Ana I, Storch, Eric A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Anxiety
Cognitive ability
cognitive flexibility
Comorbidity
Drug therapy
Executive function
Go/no-go discrimination learning
inhibition
Language
Memory
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Psychologists
Short term memory
Spatial memory
working memory
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Summary:Cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, and working memory are considered the main mechanisms responsible for executive control. This study examined differences in cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) relative to a control group. A total of 62 obsessive-compulsive participants (OCD = 32; healthy control = 32) aged between 17 and 56 years old (M = 33.16, SD = 9.23) were administered the computerized Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Color-Word Test, Go/No-Go Task, Digit Test, and Corsi Block Test. Clinician-rated and self-reported obsessive-compulsive symptom severity, and anxiety, depression, and obsessive beliefs were evaluated. The control group performed better than the OCD group in tasks involving cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and visuospatial working memory. Anxiety and obsessive beliefs influenced the participants' performance on inhibition and working memory tasks. Similarly, comorbidity also influenced inhibition and working memory. In addition, the use of pharmacotherapy and the degree of OCD symptom severity influenced verbal working memory. Cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and visuospatial working memory deficits may be endophenotypes of OCD but require further examination for specificity. OCD severity, comorbidity patterns, anxiety, and obsessive beliefs may influence performance.
ISSN:2076-3425
2076-3425
DOI:10.3390/brainsci11020267