Korean J Biol Psychiatry.  2016 Nov;23(4):193-198. 10.0000/kjbp.2016.23.4.193.

Correlation between Quantitative Electroencephalogram Findings and Neurocognitive Functions in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia

• Kim S
• Shin JE
• Kim MJ
• Kwon JS
• Choi SH

• KMID: 2361596
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/kjbp.2016.23.4.193

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia have many common clinical and neurocognitive features. However, not all of them share the same underlying mechanism. The aim of this study was to discover evidences that indicate a pathophysiological mechanism specific to OCD by comparing correlations of quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) patterns and neurocognitive function in patients with OCD and schizophrenia.
METHODS
Resting-state QEEG data of total 265 patients were acquired retrospectively and parameters such as absolute power, relative power and peak frequency were analyzed from the data. Stroop test and Trail Making Test results as well as demographic features were reviewed for this study. The correlation of neurocognitive functions and brain electrical activities in each group were assessed and compared by correlation analysis.
RESULTS
Compared with the OCD group, the schizophrenia group performed poorly in neurocognitive tests. Mean values of QEEG parameters in patients with OCD and schizophrenia did not show significant differences. Both absolute and relative power of alpha rhythm in central and frontal regions showed significant positive correlation with Stroop test results in OCD patients.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings in this study shows distinctive correlations between frontal executive dysfunction and frontal alpha rhythm in the OCD patients, both of which might be a candidate for endophenotype underlying obsessive rumination.

Keyword

Quantitative electroencephalogram; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Schizophrenia; Neurocognitive function

MeSH Terms

Alpha Rhythm
Brain
Electroencephalography*
Endophenotypes
Humans
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder*
Retrospective Studies
Schizophrenia*
Stroop Test
Trail Making Test