TY - JOUR
T1 - Electrophysiology of facilitation priming in obsessive-compulsive and panic disorders
AU - Thomas, Susan J.
AU - Gonsalvez, Craig J.
AU - Johnstone, Stuart J.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Objective: Repeated experience with stimuli often primes faster, more efficient neuronal and behavioural responses. Exaggerated repetition priming effects have previously been reported in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), however little is known of their underlying neurobiology or disorder-specificity, hence we investigated these factors. Methods: We examined event-related potentials (ERPs) and behaviour while participants with OCD, panic disorder and healthy controls (20 per group) performed a Go/NoGo task which manipulated target repetition sequences. Results: Both clinical groups showed stronger reaction time (RT) priming than HCs, which in OCD was greater in a checking, than washing, subgroup. Both clinical groups had similar RT deficits and ERP anomalies across several components, which correlated with psychopathology and RT priming. In OCD alone, N1 latency tended to increase to repeated stimuli, correlated with O–C symptoms, whereas it decreased in other groups. OCD-checkers had smaller target P2 amplitude than all other groups. Conclusions: Enhanced neural priming is not unique to OCD and may contribute to salient sensory-cognitive experiences in anxiety generally. These effects are related to symptom severity and occur to neutral stimuli and in the context of overall RT impairment, suggesting they may be clinically relevant and pervasive. The results indicate overlapping information-processing and neurobiological factors across disorders, with indications of OCD-specific trends and subgroup differences. Significance: This first electrophysiological investigation of OCD priming in OCD to include anxious controls and OCD subgroups allows for differentiation between overlapping and OCD-specific phenomena, to advance neurobiological models of OCD.
AB - Objective: Repeated experience with stimuli often primes faster, more efficient neuronal and behavioural responses. Exaggerated repetition priming effects have previously been reported in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), however little is known of their underlying neurobiology or disorder-specificity, hence we investigated these factors. Methods: We examined event-related potentials (ERPs) and behaviour while participants with OCD, panic disorder and healthy controls (20 per group) performed a Go/NoGo task which manipulated target repetition sequences. Results: Both clinical groups showed stronger reaction time (RT) priming than HCs, which in OCD was greater in a checking, than washing, subgroup. Both clinical groups had similar RT deficits and ERP anomalies across several components, which correlated with psychopathology and RT priming. In OCD alone, N1 latency tended to increase to repeated stimuli, correlated with O–C symptoms, whereas it decreased in other groups. OCD-checkers had smaller target P2 amplitude than all other groups. Conclusions: Enhanced neural priming is not unique to OCD and may contribute to salient sensory-cognitive experiences in anxiety generally. These effects are related to symptom severity and occur to neutral stimuli and in the context of overall RT impairment, suggesting they may be clinically relevant and pervasive. The results indicate overlapping information-processing and neurobiological factors across disorders, with indications of OCD-specific trends and subgroup differences. Significance: This first electrophysiological investigation of OCD priming in OCD to include anxious controls and OCD subgroups allows for differentiation between overlapping and OCD-specific phenomena, to advance neurobiological models of OCD.
KW - electrophysiology
KW - obsessive-compulsive disorder
KW - panic disorders
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:30817
U2 - 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.05.026
DO - 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.05.026
M3 - Article
SN - 1388-2457
VL - 127
SP - 464
EP - 478
JO - Clinical Neurophysiology
JF - Clinical Neurophysiology
IS - 1
ER -